


The Girl Behind the Screen

by erisahrogue



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Deep Route Spoilers (Mystic Messenger), Eventual Romance, F/M, Female Main Character (Mystic Messenger), Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Mentions of Suicide, Mentions of previous injuries that may not be suited for children, Okay maybe not angst but I dunno, Outside of the chatrooms, RFA Party (Mystic Messenger), Reader is Main Character (Mystic Messenger), Romance, recovering suicidal MC, slightly AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23227183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erisahrogue/pseuds/erisahrogue
Summary: MC can't just up and abandon her everyday life for the sake of the RFA. She struggles with balancing her usual activities and life with the RFA drama and problems. Her friend happens to intern at C&R and her other friend is a sudden fan of Zen's! Even worse, her mother is trying to set her up with Jumin for the sake of her family's company. Will MC reveal herself, or try to separate her real life from her life among the RFA members?
Relationships: 707 | Choi Luciel & Main Character, 707 | Choi Luciel/Main Character, Han Jumin/Main Character, Kang Jaehee/Main Character (Mystic Messenger), Kim Yoosung/Main Character, V | Kim Jihyun & Main Character, Zen | Ryu Hyun/Main Character
Comments: 66
Kudos: 158





	1. Unexpected Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> *This will be written in 3rd person POV. MC will also be given some defining interests and hobbies so not to make her an empty character. These hobbies/interests may not line up with your own. Thank you.
> 
> I also have up to Chapter 5 written, but may not post unless I know there is a desire for the story to continue! Please let me know what you think!

The constant vibration of her phone in her pocket was comforting. The chatrooms being full of the other members of the RFA were definitely enough to make her feel much less lonely in this situation. Why had she even agreed to stay at the apartment? Moreover, how could she have foolishly listened to a stranger?  _ It’s because you can’t ever turn down the opportunity to help people, stupid. _ She knew this to be true, and yet she still wished that she could say “no” sometimes, especially when it was something as odd as going into someone’s apartment, only to realize no one lived there and she’d ended up forcibly joining some strange group of people. Each with their own unique qualities. 

She set her small bag down on the chair and pulled the phone from her pocket, a small smile forming on her lips. It was sweet that the boys in the RFA were always concerned about her eating.  _ Though… Because none of them know what I look like, I wonder if they’re imagining I am Rika? Pretending as though whatever tragedy befell her didn’t actually happen? _ Thoughts like that kept her up late at night. Most of the time she brushed her late night chatrooms with Seven, Zen, or Yoosung off for just her being a night owl. But really…

“It’s kinda lonely in here.” She sighed aloud, taking in the furnished apartment she’d been staying in for the past couple of days. “I should go out for some air. That should be fine, right?” She reasoned with herself, glancing at the emails she had yet to answer and the messages from the other members of the group she’d recently joined. “I can answer those later, but…” She hesitated. “Perhaps I should call Seven and make sure it’d be okay to leave?”

After a five minute long internal debate on exactly why it was just fine to call Seven, and that he wouldn’t hate her or think she was annoying for calling him, she was listening to the familiar ring of the dialing tone. 

“MC! I was just thinking about you and BAM! You called. It must be fate, right?” He chuckled on the other end of the phone. “Man~ It’s so hard to concentrate right now on all of my work. Even the great God Seven needs some rest sometimes!”   
  
She found herself chuckling despite herself. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting your work, Seven. I feel kind of silly calling… but I was just wondering if it would be fine for me to leave the apartment for a walk. I’m a bit cramped in here.”

“Leave?” Seven’s voice was quiet on the other end of the line for a moment, and she feared she’d said something upsetting. “I don’t think it would be too dangerous, but you have to be careful out there, okay? Even the mighty Seven Zero Seven, Defender of Justice cannot be of use to you when you leave the safety of the apartment! And call me if anything happens, at all!”

“Don’t worry, I will. Thanks, God Seven!” She could relax knowing it was fine to leave the apartment. Going out for walks in the morning or even just meeting some friends for lunch. Things like that would be nice. It’s not like she could just completely ignore her usual social life because she’d agreed to help the RFA with this party. She still had to keep up with the friends she had in real life, like Seok and Eun. They’d be worried if she didn’t meet up with them for their weekly coffee at a cafe that was now halfway across town. 

“Haha, the Great Seven Zero Seven to the rescue!” His voice was cheerful and full of teasing playfulness. Out of all of the members of the RFA, he was definitely the most welcoming, and the easiest to warm up to. Despite that… she always felt there was an underlying sadness to him. She often felt that way herself. When she was alone at night, laying on an unfamiliar bed, thinking about how the choices she made in life had ended up with her being here, in an apartment and talking to strangers who were already beginning to feel like close friends despite how little time she had known them all. “Awe man…” He groaned through the phone. “I just got more work. Later, MC! Seven out!”

He didn’t give her a chance to reply before hanging up, and she shook her head lightly, a smile turning up the corners of her lips. He really was a one-of-a-kind guy, but she liked that about him. Even though some stranger had ended up with the app, even though she had somehow infiltrated this private group of friends, Seven had always been bright and cheerful. His welcoming aura - even through text - was helping her transition into this new lifestyle she’d have for the next week or so. How long would she be with these guys? Would she be with them even after this party they spoke of, or would her duties end there?  _ Will I… have to say goodbye to them one day? _ She shook her head, swallowing the lump growing in her throat.  _ Let’s not think of that right now. Instead, I should call Seok and Eun and see if they are on their way to our spot. _

**MC: I’m on my way. You guys gonna make it??  
EUN: You bet! You know it’s my favorite time of the week!**

**SEOK: I am running late, but I will be there. Don’t forget, Eun, you’re buying this time!**

**EUN: Awwwee :( Of course you had to bring that up! I know it’s my turn!**

The argument between her two best friends continued, and a giggle left her lips. She shook her head and left them to their argument. It would take her twice as long to get to the Lunagate cafe at this rate. It was halfway across town from this apartment. Getting her clothes moved over to the place without messing with any of the things that had belonged to the previous occupant was odd. Even more so living temporarily in an apartment that belonged to a woman who was dead now.  _ I really should be more unnerved by that instead of worrying about calling Seven too many times or accidentally slipping up and writing the wrong thing to the wrong guest. So far I’ve done pretty good with the information I have, but some of these guests they suggest are kind of… odd. _

Her thoughts strayed to Yoosung, who was probably the closest in age to her. She was still younger by a margin, but he was obsessed with his games. Even though they were in such a large city, she couldn’t believe that she’d never run into the boy before. Or if she had, she definitely didn’t pay attention to him much, which was a thought that made her quite sad. He must have been so sad to lose his cousin. And though she didn’t appreciate constantly being compared to his cousin, she knew that it was likely part of his way of coping with her being gone. His way of grieving. Otherwise, she would have told him not to think of her as Rika and to stop being delusional. Instead, she’d opted for a kinder approach, letting him know that she would be a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen to his problems, but that it  _ did  _ make her feel a bit uncomfortable to be compared to Rika constantly. Yes, she’d agreed to take on the work the woman had done, but that did not make her that person. 

Still, she felt for the boy. From the sounds of it, losing his cousin had been a big part of why he’d become obsessed with LOLOL and being a hero. His username referring to a popular and overpowered character was also probably some sort of silent scream of his desire to have changed the past. He can save people in the game where he couldn’t in real life. He ignored his grief and instead focused on a virtual world, where he held control of things that otherwise could not be controlled. People who “died” in the game often weren’t truly dead.  _ I hope he can move on from Rika. It would be best for him to live as normal of a life as possible. LOLOL isn’t bad for him except that it completely controls his life. It’s an outlet, but it’s becoming a way for him to lose himself. I don’t mean to lecture him all the time, but I can’t encourage the behavior either… What do I do? _

Surprisingly, even with her delay, she only arrived at the cafe minutes after Eun did. The bubbly girl waved at her with a huge grin plastered onto her face. “MC! I’m so glad to see you!” Without any warning, she was wrapped up in the arms of the girl and nearly suffocated by her friend’s grip. “It feels like it’s been forever! It’s only been a week though!” She was as carefree as always. “You’d never guess what happened! So,” she started to go off on a tangent about this new actor she discovered, and how she’d been certain he’d slip up in a category since he seemed too perfect to her. The way her eyes grew wide and her hands flew all over the place reminded MC of what she imagined Seven would look like when telling her about one of his dreams. 

“But anyways, what about you? Normally you’re the first one here. I’m surprised I got here first.” Eun said, finally taking a seat at the usual table. They always sat outside, unless it was too cold or raining. It was quite a nice day out, and the fresh air was just the reminder she needed that things may be crazy in her life right now, but there was comfort in routine at times. Not always, but sometimes. Just the small things that could help ground her and keep her from losing her head. 

“I… well..” She hesitated a moment. Would it be okay to tell her about what happened? She supposed it wouldn’t hurt. It’s not like she was banned from talking about the RFA. Though she would keep the address of the apartment secret, as promised. “So I was on the subway the other day heading home when I got this strange message…” After what seemed like forever of explaining how she had felt bad to just not help someone who had said they were trying to be kind, only to find out she’d been deliberately led to the place, and now she was befriending a variety of people who were all very interesting. She left out names and other details, and almost avoided the topic of Seven entirely for the sake of his secret agent identity, but by the time she was finished she realized just how insane the past couple of days had been. The look on Eun’s face was enough of a reminder. 

“You’re joking, right?” Eun blinked, leaning back in her chair after having been intently listening to the recap of MC’s past couple of days with wide eyes and immense interest. “That’s…” She shook her head, letting out a breath and straightening in her seat. “Damn. All I have to say is you’ve always been lucky like that. To have such adventures. I mean… You aren’t even from Korea originally. You came to study abroad and ended up living here because your mom married some CEO who ultimately went bankrupt because he made enemies with the C&R Company. Though, don’t get me wrong, you’ve definitely improved your Korean.” She laughed. 

“It’s not funny.” She whined, looking at her friend who was failing to give her the support she desperately needed right now. “I have no idea why I’m even staying there and doing all of this. I just agreed to do it without even thinking. They seemed so excited about this party.”

“Okay, okay,” hands held up in surrender, Eun’s laughter began to fade. “Still, you’re like the center of attention for all of those guys, right? Maybe you’ll finally find yourself a boyfriend after than incident with-”

“Let’s not talk about him, please?” MC quickly interjected, shoulders tensing.  _ He _ wasn’t someone she wished to remember right now. And something like dating wasn’t even on the table, really. “It’s not like that though. I’m just helping them with their...”

Eun’s sudden gasp and not-so-quiet fangirling cut off her words. While she wasn’t the most shy girl that she’d ever met, it was certainly not normal for her friend to be so over the top. “Oh.My.Gosh. MC! Remember that actor I was just talking about? He’s… well…. He’s here!” She was staring at him one moment, and dragging MC over towards him in the next. She was being jostled around so much that she had to wait until they were standing right in front of the guy to look at who Eun was even talking about. He was so tall that she found herself looking up to see him.

Jaehee would be disappointed at how long it took her brain to register the beautiful man standing before her. She simply stared at him while Eun began to chat up a storm, talking about how she loved his work and would love to get a selfie with him, if it was alright with him. After a moment of staring, the white haired man caught her gaze and smiled. “And who might you be? Another fan of mine? You must be staring because I’m so good-looking, right? Don’t worry ~ I don’t bite.” He was just as full of himself in person as he was in the chatroom. 

The giggling wasn’t intended, but she couldn’t help herself. He had not the slightest clue of what she looked like. Should she tell him it was her? She spared a glance over to Eun and immediately shut that thought down. How could she explain to her friend that she knew a ‘celebrity’ and spoke with him casually? “I am a fan of your work, Zen.” She smiled at him. “I think you are extremely talented, and I can tell that you work hard to prepare for all of your roles. I look forward to seeing you grow and go even further as a musical actor!” That would make his day, right? He was always upset that people only cared about his looks.  _ Though… when he realizes it was me, it may upset him… Oh well. I will just have to cross that bridge when I come to it. _

“You have seen my work? Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised, and the childish excitement on his face was just too adorable. The realization must have hit him, because he quickly composed himself. “Of course, I’m extremely talented. It’d be a shame to hide my talent and my face from the world, don’t you think?” Eun was nodding her head along, swooning over the handsome man. “Oh!” He perked up. “My Director is here. I have a meeting. Excuse me, ladies. It was a pleasure to meet you.” He winked at MC. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and she didn’t think he missed the heat that shot to her cheeks because he chuckled softly before going to meet with the man she assumed was his Director. 

Next to her, Eun was losing her composure even more, fanning herself with her hand and staring at Zen. Laughing softly, MC grabbed her hand and tugged her back over to their chairs. The waitress had already set down their usual orders, including the one for Seok, who was rushing down the sidewalk with his bag slapping against his back. He was completely out of breath when he reached their table, nearly chugging his entire iced coffee. “Sorry I’m late.” He panted, shrugging off his bag and plopping into the seat, trying to catch his breath. Being on time wasn’t a specialty of his, and even though she’d normally tease him about it, MC was glancing over her shoulder towards Zen and the Director he was talking with. She wondered what he was discussing? Was it the potential new role that he’d been talking about earlier in the chatroom? Would it be weird for her to ask about it later without trying to give away that it was her who met him? Should she just go up and talk to him?

“Earth to MC!” Seok was waving his hands trying to get her attention, and she gasped in surprise when she finally registered his movements, his hands being much too close to her face for comfort. He was staring at her for a moment, and then leaned to look behind her towards the actor. “Oh? Is our MC crushing on a boy?” He teased when she moved to block his way, mimicking his movements a couple of times before he really got a good look at the man a couple of tables behind her. “Him? Really? I didn’t peg you as the pretty boy type, MC. I’m disappointed.” His teasing smile didn’t match the phony disappointment in his tone. Heat rising in her cheeks, she picked up his rather light backpack and threw it at him, mumbling for him to be quiet and that it wasn’t anything like what he was thinking. “Sure it’s not. Anyways, let me tell you about my good news! I just got an internship with C&R! It’s the best company to work for around here.”

_ Isn’t that the company Jumin is the heir of? Why are all of my friends suddenly becoming connected to the RFA in weird ways? This should be a crime! A crime! _ She smiled despite the mental crisis she was having. “That’s so cool! The benefits for that company is amazing from what I have heard! Though you better be punctual. They don’t seem like the type of company who would let you off with a warning for being late.” In fact, she was pretty sure Jumin would tear into him for being late even just once, and ask if he was serious about working for his company. She shuddered at the thought. If that were to happen, she’d have to personally call Seven and ask him to kidnap Elizabeth the 3rd for her and make Jumin apologize. While Seok was a bit challenged when it came to keeping track of time, he was an incredible hard worker.  _ Though… I don’t think involving myself in their affairs would do anyone any good. And Jumin is usually pretty fair from what it sounds like, except when it comes to Jaehee, who always has to babysit his cat. _

In only a short period of time she’d learned so much from the members of the RFA. They were growing on her. She looked forward to their calls, their texts… their conversations in the chatroom. The way they all interacted was entertaining, even when she wasn’t a part of the conversation, but somehow she usually got mentioned in some way or another. “No kidding. I was able to meet one of the Directors and he was super strict. I wasn’t expecting a pop quiz about the company, but I was prepared, thankfully.” He shook his head. “That Jumin Han guy is tough. And I heard he doesn’t like women.”

MC nearly blurted out that Jumin was simply cautious of them because his father was always around women who wanted them for their money, but she knew that defending him would only cause unwanted attention and curiosity. Instead she swallowed the words and tucked them back into their little corner with the rest of her thoughts of the RFA members, and giggled. “I’m sure that’s not true.” She could hear Seven’s voice echoing in her head.  _ Does Jumin Han is gay? _ She nearly burst into manic laughter at the reminder, and had to swallow down the words once again. “He might just not be interested in fleeting relationships. Perhaps he is waiting for the right woman? Girls aren’t the only ones who wait for things like romance, you know.” She reminded him, wiggling her finger. 

They enjoyed the rest of their weekly chat. Seok left first, as he had to get everything ready for his first day at the company tomorrow. While she walked back towards the subway station with Eun, she realized she’d been out much longer than she had expected, and she hoped that it was okay. The apartment wasn’t a child that needed to be babysat, right? But perhaps they were worried about the hacker trying to sneak in and steal the information since they clearly knew the password? Maybe they were protecting the information rather than her, but playing it off as for her to encourage her to behave?  _ I need to stop thinking so much into things.  _ She brushed the thoughts aside. “Hey, MC?” Eun spoke up, her voice quieter than usual. “Let me know how that thing with the RFA goes, okay? I worry about you. You are much too nice to people.” The nudge she felt dig into her ribs gently was a friendly reminder of her worry. 

“Don’t worry, Eun. I will keep you updated.” She waved her friend off, and spent the rest of the subway ride immersed in a chatroom with Yoosung, who was completely complaining about how much homework he was given in one of his classes. Zen had popped in for a short minute to detail his experience at the cafe, to which she played the clueless supporter. She almost felt bad, and wanted to at least tell someone about this.  _ Maybe I should call Seven… he’d find it funny, and wouldn’t tell Zen I’m sure. _ He seemed like the only option right now, but could she just tell Seven she ran into Zen on accident? What if he thought she was hiding something and telling him the address of the apartment or something? Her thoughts were brought from their never-ending array of questions by the stopping of the subway. Humming a tune as she walked down the streets towards the apartment she would temporarily be calling home. 

Nothing looked out of place when she returned, though it still sent chills down her spine just being in the place. That sense of being utterly alone crashed over her once more, and she sighed as she tugged off her sweater to change into a more comfortable pair of clothes. Sitting on the small sofa, MC set to work on finally responding to the emails she’d been putting off, each response more absurd than the last, though she could tell by the emails and after examining what little information she had about the guest what the best response would be. However she was rather surprised that saying she was allergic to people not showing up to the party was what had been the final tipping point to a desirable answer from the allergy researcher. Emails taken care of, it was definitely time to put on some television and get comfortable for the rest of the evening.


	2. Absolute Boredom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC begins to realize that accepting the guest coordinator position is a lot less thrilling than she'd been expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is MAINLY a Seven x MC fic. My first real fanfiction that is not a one-shot or just drabbles. I do not have a beta reader, unfortunately. This is slightly AU as it will be slightly off from the canon story, as you can already tell. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! I don't know when I'll update, but I'll try to be regularly updating.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” MC questions, glancing left and right praying that she didn’t see either of the professionals who worked at the company.  _ I really need to learn how to say no.  _ When Seok called her this morning asking her to help him ensure he got to C&R on time, she’d immediately agreed. She hadn’t expected him to ask her to stay with him. Part of her was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Director she spoke to over the chat. He was nice enough to her in the chatroom, but she was curious - if he met her without knowing her would he automatically place her into the same category as every woman? She was certain he would, and if she was right, she could use this as an opportunity to teach him not to look at every woman with the same thought process in mind. “I don’t think I should be here.” Her heart wouldn’t settle in her chest, nervous to even be inside the company building. The receptionist was polite but curt. 

“Mr. Lee?” A woman called out, a clipboard in her hands. MC wasn’t sure if she was more relieved or disappointed that it wasn’t the short haired assistant who’d called her last night to complain to her about Jumin’s newest idea about creating a wine that cats could drink. His wine idea resulted in the woman taking drastic measures to send him to the oil prince on a sudden business trip. Feeling sorry for her, MC had helped Jaehee out when Jumin’s suspicions arose about why she’d suddenly scheduled the trip. Out of all of the RFA members, Jaehee was the one who she felt she could become closest friends with. She was cautious, but amiable and easy to get along with. Besides, maybe she could see that DVD that Jaehee had of one of Zen’s performances. Fangirling over him with a friend would be a way to relax for both of them, she was certain. 

Seok was quick to rise and walk over to the woman. He looked stiff, but smiled and shook the woman’s hand, accompanied by a bow. Straightening, he shot a glance over his shoulder and gave her a little nod. Oh! That was her cue! She could leave! MC smiled widely, giving him a thumbs up for good luck before she left the building. “Now what should I do with my day?” She didn’t want to go back to the apartment, but she knew that she shouldn’t be gone for too long. A glance at her watch told her that she’d already been out thirty minutes later than she’d intended to be for the morning. “Guess I’ll go back. I should probably eat. Seok called me so early that I didn’t even eat breakfast yet.”

The subway was packed, but she was still able to access her phone, opening up her newly deemed ‘most used’ app.  _ Oh! Seven’s in the chatroom! _ She immediately opened it up, popping in, eyes quickly scanning the messages he was writing.  _ Complaining again? He’s so funny. His maid sounds more like a mother who constantly lectures him. _ She giggled, fingers gliding over her screen to send a message. 

**MC: God Seven! You’re here!**

**707: MC!** **  
** **707: I have so much work to do! ;;**

**707: Ahhh, but I can’t concentrate!!**

**707: All I can think about is whether or not you’re really safe from the hacker. Are you at the apartment now?**

**MC: I’m on my way back there now. I just saw a friend on his first day at his new job. He was pretty nervous.**

**707: OH ! A boy???? Do you…**

**707: HAVE A BOYFRIEND, MC??? O.O**

**MC: It’s not like that at all! We’re just friends.**

**707: … I need to find this boy.**

**MC: Are you going to do a background check on him? Don’t! Don’t invade his privacy.**

**MC: Mine is one thing, but Seok is innocent!**

**707: So his name is Seok? Friend of yours? Gotta go! I’m motivated now!!**

**707: Bye, MC!**

**[707 has left the chatroom]**

Of course he wasn’t going to listen to her request. He would do what he wanted to do, even if it meant invading the privacy of someone who had nothing to do with the RFA. “If he has that much time on his hands, maybe he should be finishing the work he has from his boss instead.” She mumbled under her breath, leaving the chatroom herself. Not ten minutes later, her phone was ringing, the tone she’d set up for Seven warning her exactly who was on the other end of the tone. 

“Did you find anything interesting?” She asked as soon as she hit the green answer button. Should she have just ignored the call? But she did enjoy her time on the phone with the hacker, even if she didn’t appreciate him spying into the cyberlife of her close friends. They probably had things they didn’t want anyone to know about. And a hacker like Seven could find out anything and everything on them so long as it was out there on the web in the world of binary numbers. 

“Seok Lee. 21 years old. Straight A student in college. Born on May - gahhh this guy is boring! I thought I would find something interesting on one of your friends, but I don’t have anything!” Seven’s groan sent shivers down her spine. His voice sounded so close to her ear she almost could have believed he was right behind her if she closed her eyes to imagine it. “Oh! But he - wait -  _ you saw him off to his new job at Jumin’s company? _ ” The laughter on the other end of the phone was kind of adorable.  _ He is so cute. _ She thought, lips curving upward. “Oh man, MC. Was that an excuse to try to meet Jumin? Do you like him~? I will support you two fully!”

“It’s not like that!” Her cheeks burned, stepping off the subway. She ignored the looks she got for her outburst, walking down the street towards the apartment complex. He was getting the wrong idea about her. “You guys just seem to keep popping up into my life in the weirdest ways! My friend just discovered Zen and now he is all she talks about! And I’ve decided to blame you because she said she saw a photo of him on her computer! Your tripter bot was probably the cause.” She whined, but waved to one of the neighbors as she passed by the woman in the hallway. 

“This is hilarious! So now Jumin and Zen are invading your real life? Are they in your dreams too, MC?” He was clearly teasing her, and she blew air out of her cheeks, whining at his questions. More laughter filled her ear. “MC you’re so cute.” His compliment was unexpected, and she squeaked. Further embarrassed, she tried to hide her face in her free arm, swallowing and praying he didn’t hear her. “Oh my gosh that was adorable. Do it again~”

“Seven~” She whines, not hearing the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. “It’s not funny. We ran into Zen at the cafe yesterday. I totally had to pretend I was just a fan because my friend was freaking out over him! He’s going to kill me once he realizes it was me!”

More laughter filled the electronic device’s speaker, until Seven began to cough on the other end of the line. He took a couple of minutes to catch his breath. “That- Oh! Vanderwood is coming back. I have to go! We’ll talk more later, MC!” He clicked the end button before she could say anything. Groaning, she set her phone down on the table in the apartment, looking around the place. She should probably clean up a little. It wasn’t a mess, but she had nothing better to do than clean anyways. 

Even after cleaning the apartment, re-organizing her things in the suitcase she’d left on the floor of the room, and eating a light snack for lunch, she had way too much time on her hands. No one was in the chatroom, which was to be expected. Zen was quite busy all the time, Jaehee was probably enjoying her time with Jumin being gone for the time being - and that he’d taken Elizabeth the 3rd with him - while Seven was working and Yoosung was, hopefully, in class and not playing LOLOL. She clicked on the television and skimmed through the channels for a while, trying to find something to do. Her eyes went to the clock - it was only about 2 pm. What could she do?

She found herself checking her phone every ten minutes. “Gahh! I’m going to go crazy in here!” Opening up the messenger app, she stared at the contacts tab, clicking on the first name to run through her head. Jumin.  _ Ah. I shouldn’t be calling him while he is on a business trip he’s probably really bus- _

“Hello.” His voice was just as calm and collected as the first time she had heard it. Clear and concise. He knew exactly what he wanted to say and he said it. Clear as day. “Are you okay? I am on a business trip right now so I cannot be on the phone for long. What is it that you need?”

All of a sudden calling him seemed like a childish thing to have done. Could she not entertain herself for even a little while? _I’m so stupid!_ _Now what am I supposed to say?_ No words came to her mind for a moment, and she realized she needed to speak before he hung up on her. “I… uh… I’m sorry. I just called because I’m dying of boredom.”

“You called me because you are bored?” Jumin sounded surprised. “Hmm..” His thoughtful hum was definitely appreciated compared to the outcome she’d expected him to give. “I do not think I am the best one to call for such a thing. If you are lonely, why not contemplate why it is you are feeling that way, and resolve those useless feelings?”  _ Ah… that sounds more like him.  _ Really, calling Seven again and bothering him might have been a better option than calling the one often referred to as an emotionless robot. 

She laughed awkwardly, “Uh… that’s… yeah. That is a good idea. Thank you Jumin!” What else could she say? There was little to do in this apartment, and while they made it seem like a big deal, preparing for the party wasn’t all that difficult. It took minutes for her to type up a proper response to the emails and then she had nothing to do for the rest of the day. 

“Is that all? Then I must go. Goodbye, MC.” 

The dial tone of being hung up on seemed to be her new best friend.  _ And back to doing nothing. What can I do in this place? _ She glanced over towards the clock again. “It’s only two-thirty?” That was it. She was going to go out.  _ Why is it that I’m on vacation from work the same week I find this weird messenger app? I’d like to keep myself busy somehow.  _ Maybe she could find a good book store? It had been a while since she’d picked up a good book. Oh! She could go look for something on hacking. Wouldn’t Seven be surprised if she had knowledge about the binary numbers?  _ I should have paid more attention when I took AP Computer Science the one year I took it.  _ She only knew that she hated Java. That was what she’d learned from the class. Though her teacher had been mildly impressed at her ability to successfully use Java despite it being more complicated than Python.

“If I’m going to do that, I might as well learn more about the things they’re all interested in. Zen is a musical actor, right? I don’t know much about that. I did theater once, but nothing with musical acting. I’m not so sure it’d be a good idea to try LOLOL, but maybe it would be fun to try? Ah… but I shouldn’t touch Rika’s laptop in there, right? V didn’t want me to touch anything.” She sighed. Maybe a gaming cafe would be best? Just to try it once? Of course, learning more about Zen also meant she could talk with Jaehee more about girl things rather than just the party she was supposed to be collecting guests for. 

As it turned out, none of the bookstores were very helpful in her quest for more information. She’d searched for at least an hour in three different bookstores, but nothing was useful in any of the stores, and somehow she ended up in a store that sold mostly manga. “This is so frustrating.” She rubbed her head, glancing around one last time for anything that could even hold her attention for longer than two seconds. 

Out of energy and patience, she left the store and began her walk back to the apartment. She didn’t want to get on the cramped subway right now. It would be much too crowded at this time of day, and she needed the exercise and time out of the apartment to clear her head.  _ Seven seems really upset about the hacker situation. Everyone always puts so much pressure on him to make sure that things are safe. His job isn’t safe, right? But he is putting off his work for his boss to keep an eye out on the hacker… I’m worried about him. _

  
  
  



	3. Arranged Marriage?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets a call from her mother for help. Little does she know she'd only slightly being set up!

“Your mother is attempting to reach you on your cellular device. I repeat, your mother is attempting to reach you on your cellular device.” The oh-so-familiar ringtone forced her to finally open her eyes and pick up the phone, even though she’d been awake for the last thirty minutes. She groped the mattress for the phone she’d fallen asleep on while she’d been on the phone with Zen the previous night. The voice of her ringtone continued to repeat the signature phrase until she swiped the green phone icon. 

“Good morning, mom.” She pulled the phone from her face to check the time. It was only seven in the morning, and she didn’t have much going on for the day. “Why are you calling me so early in the morning?” She rubbed her eyes as if that would help ease the heaviness her body felt. 

“Oh I’m so glad you picked up the phone! Good morning, sweetie. I know you’re a busy girl, but I really need you today. My Director is in the hospital and we have an important meeting this morning. Could you fill in for him, please? Your father and I would really appreciate it.” Even though the man wasn’t her true father, he was close enough to family. She’d grown to see him as her father of sorts, and he did treat her mother right. Their marriage had been a shock, but not unwelcome, as it’d been so long since she’d seen her mother smile so much.

“Dad can’t go himself?” She asked. 

Her mother sighed. “Unfortunately he’s on a business trip right now. This meeting is a chance to make up for what happened in the past. Please, MC, it will just be this one time.”

It’s not like she was trying to refuse to help. She did find it odd that her mother would be calling her for such a meeting, since she was on vacation from her family company. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll go. Can I meet you at the company to go over the files and documents for the meeting? I’ll look through them on the way.” 

She was thankful she brought a white button up blouse and black pencil skirt with her to the apartment as she got dressed and brushed her hair. Her mother on speaker phone, she listened as she detailed the importance of this business meeting. Their company was on a restart of sorts after having fallen far from the social ladder when her dad got upset with C&R and got on their bad side - he’d offended the Chairman’s girlfriend at the time, so he’d destroyed their company. It’d taken a couple of years to get the company back together, and MC had changed her topic of study to help organize the company and events. 

Now they were trying to convince companies to make the decision to work with them again despite the past quarrels with such a large company. They were beginning to thrive, and every business meeting was considered critical to the wellbeing of the company. Making sure the best went to the meetings to negotiate the terms. 

“It sounds like this meeting is one of the bigger ones, but dad’s on a business trip?” She couldn’t believe they’d have been reckless enough to send him away when they had such a big meeting coming up. 

“It couldn’t be helped. He was offered an agreement that can really help our company. Someone known as the Oil Prince reached out to him and offered him a deal. We’re not sure why, but we are grateful for the opportunity.” The... _ wasn’t Jumin meeting with the Oil Prince just a few days ago?  _ She could be mistaken, but were there more than one Oil Prince? “MC.. you went quiet. Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah! Everything is going fine.” She quickly replied, grabbing her handbag and keys, leaving the apartment. “I’m just surprised is all. Anyways, I’m on my way, so I will meet you at the main building.” The walk seemed so short, earbuds in and music playing. She allowed herself to become immersed in the beat, enjoying being outside even with the hundreds of people bustling about going about their day. 

She hummed along to the song playing, offering a smile and a quick bow to the man who held the door open for her. Pressing pause, MC tucked her headphones and phone into her handbag. Her mother stood from the waiting chair, approaching her quickly, handing her file after file. “This is the report and the agreement. Please read it thoroughly on our way.”

“The meeting is now?” She thought she would have a bit more time than that to look over everything! Her mother nodded once, already walking back out the very doors that she herself had just entered. Quickly following behind her, MC let out a sigh. It was very typical of her mother to call her last minute for such an important task. Her heels clicked along the pavement, pausing only to climb into the back of the car. She was every bit the wife of a CEO of a small company; proud and dignified, but polite enough to still nod a thanks to the driver who held the door open for her. 

MC climbed in after her, mumbling a ‘thank you’ to Mr. Park, who’d been their driver ever since she’d known her step-father. Over the years his face never changed at all, and at one point in time she’d been convinced he was immortal. Despite his ripe age of nearly 50 years old, there were no wrinkles on his face, and he kept himself in shape. She often wondered if he worked out even though all he did was drive her family around. 

The proposal for cooperation was very detailed, eyes skimming over the pages quickly to get as much information as she possibly could in the amount of time it would take to get to the company for their meeting. She was so frantic to know the important details that she almost missed a very obvious detail. In italicized font read, “ _ this agreement will be made between Party A and Party B. Party A will herein refer to the FRIETZ company. Party B will herein refer to the C&R company.” _ Staring at the last two words for a moment, MC couldn’t believe her luck. 

_ What, am I in some kind of manga? First thrown into the RFA and now? _ She glanced over to her mother, who, despite her perfect posture and well-dressed attire, looked nervous. It wasn’t usually her job to negotiate with other companies, which was more than likely the reason she’d called for help. “Why are we making an agreement with C&R?” Even if she wasn’t unnerved by the fact that Jumin and Jaehee worked with the company, she couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of working with the same company who had ruined them in the first place. 

“Your father was once good friends with Chairman Han. His current girlfriend, Glam Choi, is someone I grew up with. She reached out to me. She really enjoyed the products we came out with, and because of her Chairman Han wanted to strike a deal with us. We will be speaking with his son, Jumin Han. Now, you should be on your best behavior, MC. Jumin is not known for being fond of women, but I think you could win him over. He’s only agreed to meet with us because his father asked him to.”

_ Oh. Goody. _ She ignored the part of herself that was excited to meet the man whom she’d spent days on end talking with if she could. He always seemed so logical and practical. She’d always enjoyed listening to his stories, and all of the pictures he shared of Elizabeth the 3rd were incredible. “Okay.” She nodded her head. “I will be sure to get his approval for this cooperation, do not worry.”

Each passing moment they waited inside the C&R building seemed like an hour went by. Time was moving so slowly, but her nerves steadily grew. She couldn’t be nervous around Jumin. How would she be able to face him at the party if she failed this for her mother? While they waited, she found herself checking for a chatroom, hoping for a distraction. As soon as Yoosung popped up, she heard her mother’s name called from a familiar voice - Jaehee! She all but jumped to her feet, nearly asking if she had been able to eat a proper meal today and how Jumin’s trip with the Oil Prince went. 

“Mrs. Song, if you would follow me, Mr. Han is waiting.” She sounded just as professional as always. MC remained quiet as she followed behind her mother and the assistant, entering the room Jumin was waiting in, already seated at his desk. He was definitely much more handsome and sophisticated in person, though she knew now was not the time to comment on such a thing. 

“Good Morning, Mrs. Song,” Jumin motioned for them to have a seat, and she tried not to stare at him as she held the documents in one hand and flattened her skirt with the other, sitting in the chair. He was definitely the kind of businessman who could get what he wanted. “If I may, I’ve read the agreement proposal from Mr. Song. While your company shows potential for growth in the upcoming years, there is nothing to suggest there is a plan in motion to prevent another downfall of your company.”

One glance and he likely knew her mother was nervous. Ji-Ah was not known for her ability to negotiate and make deals. MC knew that she’d have to speak up, but what if she slipped up? The way her mother’s hands lightly brushed over her lap in a feigned attempt to smooth her skirt was enough to remind her that this was her mother, and she could not just let her mother down because she was worried about what would happen if Jumin knew who she was. “Mr. Han,” She spoke, finding the words much more foreign to her than she’d expected. He was always telling her to call him Jumin, and now here she was, pretending to be nothing more than another potential business partner. 

“I’m aware that you hold your reservations about this collaboration with our company. We are slowly building up our reputation once more, and even if the numbers look good on paper we cannot guarantee that our products will be in popular demand with the people. However, despite this, we have shown great results in the past with our products, and have already begun testing the products through free trials. We do extensive research on what the general population desires. Our products do not exclude gender or age, which is a major selling point. All of our cosmetic products are all-natural, and we are implementing a ‘give back to nature’ program, so every time our product is bought, our company plants a tree or donates to a non-profit organization. Due to our previous reputation being ruined as a result of an incident between our two companies, this can show other companies that C&R is capable of making decisions based off of facts and desirable outcomes rather than purely on emotions.”

The more she spoke, the more difficult it was to not slip up. She knew so many things she could use to persuade Jumin Han to agree. If she were to talk about cats nonchalantly and appeal to that, it would be so easy. But if she put forward the facts, he should agree. And if he did not agree to the plan, then that was that. She’d not let her personal friendship she was building with Jumin be ruined because of this unfortunate event. 

“You have very good points, Ms. Song. What benefit would Freitz bring to C&R? This proposal outlines obvious reasons why we should form an agreement with you, though there seems to be little that truly appeals to C&R.” Jumin’s eyes were boring into her, and she nearly squirmed under the intense stare. 

“Glam Choi has already agreed to being a face for our newest cosmetic line, which will increase sales significantly. This agreement will produce profit for both of our companies, Mr. Han.” MC glanced over to her mother, and silently wished she wouldn’t have brought up the Chairman’s girlfriend. Playing that card wouldn’t work with Jumin, and would only encourage him to bluntly shut down the agreement. She spared a glance at him, and could already see the disdain in his eyes. 

“Mrs. Song, Glam Choi is certainly a popular celebrity, however this does not concern C&R. You can make your agreement with her without involving our company. What we may make from this agreement can not prove to be beneficial in the long term. From where I am standing, without this agreement, your company may possibly become nonexistent or forced to sell. Would it not, then, be easier to simply buy it from you when the time comes?”

Next to her, a gasp left her mother’s lips. His bluntness was to be expected, however. She’d messed up by bringing up Glam Choi, whom Jumin already was not fond of. Just another of his father’s many girlfriends. Someone who was causing Jumin emotional distress even if he failed to admit it. He valued his relationship with his father, even if he made bad decisions concerning his girlfriends. This, to Jumin, was one of those bad decisions. 

MC swallowed, keeping her posture straight and confident. “Would you really turn down a completely valid proposal for cooperation simply because you dislike the reason the agreement was brought about, Jumin?” The words left her lips before she could stop herself. Freezing, eyes wide, she closed her mouth and glanced towards the floor. She’d slipped up. Mr. Han was so formal and wrong to her. That wasn’t Ms. Song of Freitz talking. It was MC from the RFA. 

A glance back to the man behind the desk only confirmed her screw up. His brows were raised, looking quite surprised but also…  _ is he treating me like some kind of gold digger? A girl who may potentially flirt with his father? Or with him? Just for their money?  _ She wanted to throw the agreement in his face and tell him not all women were the same. “My apologies, Mr. Han.” She stood and bowed. 

“I wasn’t aware we were on a first name basis, Ms. Song.” He was just as calm as ever, despite the situation. “Are you wanting me to refer to you by your given name, MC?”  _ Yes. Actually I would find it much easier to talk with you. Oh no. Wait. That look. He’s thinking about it now. Don’t do that. It’s not me.  _ “Your voice seems very familiar..”  _ Oh no. No. No. _

“Mr. Han, I apologize for the informality. Please let us return to the proposal agreement.” She sat, flipping through the pages of the agreement. “As you can see, in this agreement Freitz is agreeing to become a part of C&R Company without you having to pay the usual price for the company after you marry MC So-wait, what?!” She scanned the pages again and looked over to her mother. “You’re trying to marry me off to Jumin for the company?” Her mother didn’t look at her, though she didn’t need her to. Swallowing, MC looked at Jumin and bowed once more. “Mr. Han, I am so sorry about this. Please allow me to revise the conditions of this proposal and return with more reasonable and desirable conditions.” No wonder he was looking at her like that. She hoped he never looked at her with that expression ever again. 

MC looked to her mother, who simply kept her eyes trained on Jumin. “Mr. Han. This agreement is desirable for both of our companies. Do you not find my daughter appealing? She is no celebrity, but she has a kind heart and-”

“Mother.” MC grabbed her mother’s wrist. “I appreciate that you are thinking of my future, but I will not marry into a family because of an arranged marriage through a contract. Jumin sees enough women trying to charm and sneak their way by his side or his father’s side on a consistent basis. I will not be a part of that system for him. Please return to the car. I will speak with Mr. Han and find a more appropriate and business-only related solution.”

“MC! You-” Ji-Ah’s voice was interrupted by MC’s ringtone. She pulled out the phone and realized it was Seven calling. There was hardly a time he called just because he wanted to. Not unless it was right after they stopped chatting in the chatroom. She swallowed, telling herself that she would call him right back after this, silencing her phone and politely asking Jaehee to have her mother escorted to her car. Only after Jumin’s nod of approval did she agree. 

“You keep calling me by my first name.” He states once the two left the office. She turned around to see him standing and leaning against the front of his desk, arms crossed leisurely over his chest. “Are you trying to play some farce to seem like you’re not just after my family for our money?” His bluntness was surprising. 

She smiled a bit, rubbing her arm awkwardly. “It’s really nothing like that. My mother asked me here last minute to fill in for this meeting. I was only able to read half of the agreement on the trip here, but I know enough about Freitz to talk openly and informatively about it.” He didn’t seem phased at all. “My father is currently on a business trip. The Oil Prince reached out to our company for an agreement proposal. Juman Han, if I wanted to try to weasel my way into your family for your money, I’d be no better than a celebrity who contacts the media to spread fake news about a divorce that isn’t even confirmed to be happening.” 

“I see.” Jumin relaxes his arms. “If this is true, then I will allow you to come up with another proposal that can convince me Freitz would be an asset to C&R rather than a liability.” His words took a weight off of her shoulders she’d not realized she had been carrying.

“Thank you, Mr. Han.” She smiled brightly at him, giggling. “I promise to Elizabeth the 3rd that I will come up with a reasonable and acceptable proposal!”

“Elizabeth the 3rd?” His guard was back up. 

_ Oh shit. Did I… really…  _ “Nothing! I should see my mother back to the company! Thank you again, Mr. Han!” She quickly excused herself, taking the stairs rather than the elevator so that she could get downstairs faster. She needed to leave. Hurry before Jumin realized anything else. But at least she’d managed to avoid becoming someone Jumin would hate. Or she hoped so at least. 

“Assistang Kang.” Jumin was staring out of the window of his office, looking down at the car as the brunette crawled into it quickly after her mother. “That woman… does she not seem familiar to you?” He couldn’t stop thinking about the way she said his name. It wasn’t intentional. She’d not done it like most of the women who threw themselves at him, using his first name as a way to create intimacy. She’d said it first when she’d gotten worked up, as if she were upset with him. Her voice was so fine, he could have listened to her talk about anything all day. 

“Pardon, Mr. Han? Are you… interested in that woman?” Jaehee looked surprised, but Jumin couldn’t help but feel as if something was off. He usually would have turned down such a ridiculous plot of a proposal right off the bat, though when MC had begun speaking, very professionally and full of information, he found himself reconsidering his initial decision. It was as though she knew he was planning on rejecting, and made it more difficult to have a decent reason to reject it. Though…  _ did she have to look so against the idea of marrying me? _ Why it bothered him, he wasn’t able to wrap his head around it. 

  
“When is my trip to the winery?” He knew another who had a fine voice he liked to hear, but perhaps he should wait to call her. “Send for the car.” He watched her leave the room before pulling out his phone, dialing a number he often avoided calling at all costs. “I need you to look into a girl, Luciel. Her name is MC Song.” The laughter on the other end of the phone was a nuisance. He hung up while the red-headed agent began teasing him about being interested in a real woman.  _ Could she really be…? It would be too much of a coincidence, wouldn’t it? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, first and foremost, I don't own Mystic Messenger or the characters. I only own my own cellular device and my heart that adores the game. 
> 
> Second... 
> 
> I am not a business major and know little to nothing about business things. Please forgive me if you know the stuff and this is way wrong. This is a work of FICTION but I do try to keep things realistic to a degree... or... as much as you can while following the MM plot (sort of)


	4. Jumin Han

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC struggles with what to do about Jumin and the meeting they'd unfortunately had that morning.

“Stop trying to set me up with corporate heirs, mother!” MC laughed, waving to her mother from the window of the car. She’d insisted on having Driver Park return her home. Though she knew she would just ask him to drop her off at a convenience store to grab a snack for lunch as a late breakfast.  _ Man, if Yoosung or Zen knew how little I was eating they’d probably shove food down my throat themselves. _ She thought, leaning back into the leather seat of the car. 

“Where to, little miss?” 

“Will you take me to Marty’s? I was unable to get breakfast thanks to my mother. From there I can walk, it’s not far.” Well, not too far. She would respect the secrecy of the apartment’s location to the best of her abilities. “Thank you.” She smiled at his nod of agreement. “Now…” She murmured to herself, opening up the messenger app and going to her calls. 

Seven answered on the first ring. 

“Wow, MC! You sure know how to leave an impression on a guy!”  _ That can’t be good.  _ She thought, but she didn’t say anything. “Jumin just asked me to do a background check on you. Man~ I’m kind of jealous that Jumin and Zen got to see you in person before I did. I know I’m the only one who knows about what you look like and the location of the apartment, but they got to see you first.... Garghhh! Now I’m not going to be able to focus on my work at all thinking about it.”

“I wish I could have met you first, Seven.” The words came out of nowhere, and she regretted saying them the moment they left her lips. Would he freak out at the confession? Tease her about it?   
  


He made a noise on the other end of the phone. “Oh dear… I got a little excited there. Hearing you say that makes me want to kidnap you and take you to the space station.” He sighed, then gasped. “Ah! But we were talking about Jumin calling about a background check on you. You should just tell him you’re our MC. With the RFA.” He was being logical, but was it okay? “It’s not like your identity is a secret, just your location. Though be careful of Jumin, he sounded weird on the phone. What did you say to him?”

She paused a moment, thinking back to the interaction. “Nothing bad! I just… I may have accidentally promised to Elizabeth the 3rd that I would come up with an agreement for our companies that don’t involve us being in an arranged marriage.” No sooner did the words leave her lips was the male on the other end of the phone dying of laughter.

“Sevennn~” She whined.

“Alright, alright. I’m…” He was giggling! Giggling! “I’m done.” His breathing was heavy and sounded shaky. He really thought it was funny, didn’t he? “You promised on my Elly that you weren’t going to marry Jumin Han, I’m sure that was a shocker to him! Oh I may just have to see that scene for myself! You were in his office, right? This has to be good.” She could hear his fingers typing on the computer. “Alrighty, MC~ Good luck with that,” he was giggling again as he hit the END button. 

“Great.” She let out a sigh. As she went to close the app, she noticed a chatroom open with Jaehee and Yoosung. Curious, she opened up the chat. 

**Yoosung: Hi MC!**

**Jaehee: Hello.**

**MC: Jaehee! Have you eaten today?’**

**Jaehee: *sighing emoji***

**Jaehee: Mr. Han had a meeting this morning that really went wrong, so he is demanding research on the company.**

**Jaehee: He’s interested in a woman. She shares the same name as you, actually.**

**MC: Me?**

She hesitated, looking at the screen. Should she tell them that it had been her that morning? Would it be worse to tell them in the chatroom or in person? 

**MC: Actually… about that…**

**Yoosung: REALLY? Jumin is interested in a girl? No way! What was she like?**

**Jaehee: She wasn’t like most women who approach Mr. Han. She was very informed and had good information about the company, though it seems as though she was unaware of a certain clause in the agreement. Which is what I have to look into right now.**

**MC: Right… uhm… Do you guys think she was just trying to get to Jumin for his money?**

**Jaehee: She said she wasn’t, but we can never be too sure. Mr. Han is trying to find a way to contact her.**

**MC: Oh…**

**Yoosung: MC, are you feeling okay? You don’t sound like yourself.**

**MC: I’m okay! I just find it sad that Jumin sees all women the same. I understand why he feels the way he does, but he shouldn’t judge every woman as alike.**

**Jaehee: Regardless of the reason, it just means I have more work.**

**Jaehee: I must go, Mr. Han is leaving for the winery.**

**[Jaehee has left the chat]**

**Yoosung: I should get going too!**

**Yoosung: Lunch is over now so I have to get to class.**

**Yoosung: Bye MC! Don’t forget to eat!**

**[Yoosung has left the chat]**

“Oh boy.” She rubbed her forehead with her palm. Perhaps she should set up a meeting with Jumin and explain herself? Nothing good could come out of him thinking she was exploiting him or trying to marry him for his money. He was a person with feelings, after all. Not to mention the power that he had with the money at his disposal. She would need Seven's entire arsenal of skills to evade Jumin Han and his wrath. 

She stepped into the apartment, immediately kicking off her heels and running barefoot down the hallway into the room so that she could change into something more comfortable. She opted for a pair of sweats and a tank top, changing and returning to the living room. "Now… how am I going to spend my day? I am so bored here it's not funny." 

Her phone's buzz sounded from inside her bag. The message was from none other than Seok, who was asking if it was okay to call her. He must have something important to say if he wanted to talk on the phone. She responded by dialing his number.

He picked up immediately. 

"Oh thank goodness you aren't busy! You wouldn't believe the gossip going around right now, MC. I heard a girl waltzed into the company this morning and Director Han is all worked up about it. Normally gossip is boring but this is… just wow." He was such a liar! Gossip was practically his religion with how much he talked about the drama going on around him. In school he had always been the first to know everything, and had been a great gossip column reporter because of it.

"Really?" She knew how to appease him. It was simply pretending to be absolutely enthralled by the news. Hearing about how she had royally messed up this morning was not really how she had imagined this conversation going.

“Yes! And get this…” His voice dropped really low. Was someone coming and he had to be quiet, or was it really just that big of a supposed secret? “She had the nerve to tell Mr. Han that she had absolutely no interest in marrying him! One of the girls at the front desk told me she saw the girl rushing off into the car right after the meeting looking angry! I wish I could have seen it!” His excitement only fueled her inner turmoil. 

She shifted on the couch, getting more comfortable. “Oh my gosh… Are you serious?” If he caught onto the slight sarcasm in her tone, he didn’t say anything, and instead continued on about how Glam Choi showed up at the office not long after than hanging onto the arm of the chairman like ‘a really old piece of candy, and not like the still edible kind but like the kind from Halloween when you’re like 3’. 

“Ahh! I have to go! See ya later, MC!” He whisper-shouted into the phone and hung up with a decisive ‘click’ of a button. Laughing, MC set down her phone, head shaking. Seok really was a breed of his own kind, though she wouldn’t have him any other way. 

The longer she stayed in the apartment with little-to-nothing to do, the more her curiosity grew. She knew V said she wasn’t to get into Rika’s things, and it might set off alarms if she did open a drawer she wasn’t supposed to in the office area, but she was curious. What was in the drawers? What was so important that no one could know what was in them except for one woman? Despite the itch to open every drawer and unravel the secrets woven inside the apartment, MC knew she couldn’t betray the trust of the RFA by doing so. 

“But the longer I stay in here, the more I wanna know!” She groaned, kicking her legs like a child throwing a tantrum because they didn’t want to leave the play area of McDonalds. 

He couldn’t enjoy the fresh air or focus on the importance of his meeting with the management of the winery. While he’d been thinking of developing a wine for Elizabeth the 3rd, he found himself wondering about the woman from the morning meeting. When had her voice entered his head and refused to leave? Why was her face replacing the image of Elizabeth the 3rd while he thought about drinking wine on a balcony, enjoying the stars?   
  


Thinking of the woman from the morning meeting was driving him crazy, but he wanted to hear her fine voice once more. He didn’t notice he’d opened up the messenger and called MC until she answered, though the reserve in her voice was different than her usual response. “It’s me. I’m at the winery right now. The strong aroma pleases my nose.” Why that was important, he didn’t know. 

“If you just take a single step back from your busy trail of life, you can see nature’s beauty right there waiting before your very eyes. I knew I wouldn’t regret purchasing this winery.” She didn’t say anything, and for a moment he wondered if she was even listening. Was she ignoring him? Simply indulging him by answering the phone, only to ignore his words? “Although I came here for work, I feel that even a small break would provide me with new business proposals.” The meeting from this morning popped into his head. He could have sworn he knew the woman speaking to him.

“I recommend leaving on a trip when you feel suffocated by reality. Traveling is a good hobby.” He wondered if the brunette who’d so brazenly declared she had no interest in his family or his money had taken a trip ever. 

“Trips… are a luxury for me. I dare not indulge in it.” She finally answered. Her words were soft and almost unsure. 

“Luxury…? I understand. You would need at least a day completely free of your duties to feel like you are on a trip.” Not for the first time, he wondered what MC looked like. If her face matched her voice, fine and alluring. “I’m not sure if the same could be said of you, but to me time is my most valuable asset.” Yes, talking with MC was what he had needed to clear his thoughts of the meeting this morning. “This beautiful landscape keeps reminding me of Elizabeth the 3rd. Watching her softly treat amongst this grass while drinking wine will be the best break ever. “

Except… despite what he said, the truth didn’t line up. He tried to envision his beautiful, white furred feline padding along the green grass of the winery, but instead he could see the woman from this morning, in all of her furious, extremely unprofessional glory, smiling at him while standing near the grapes, just like she had when he’d agreed to give her company a second chance for their proposal. 

“I should definitely bring her with me next time.”  _ What am I thinking? Bringing a woman here? _ “Ah… Elizabeth the 3rd and wine… I think I’m getting a really good idea… Where is my notepad?” He needed to distract himself from the woman. From thinking of her. But MC’s voice was so similar in it’s softness. “You have to take notes of business ideas as they arise, or else you’ll forget.” He could use this to end the conversation. He needed to seriously sit and think about why that woman was clouding his pure thoughts of Elizabeth the 3rd. “I must leave to do just that. I’ll call you next time. I hope you have a good day.”

“O-oh. Goodbye, Jumin. Enjoy yourself.” Yes… even the way she had called out his name was so similar. Their names… their voices…  _ I need Luciel to send me her background information immediately. He would have told me if they were the same person. That woman is clouding my mind. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder this is slightly AU and will not be following the entirety of the plot of Mystic Messenger, though there will be similarities whether it be phone calls that happen or that may be slightly altered or even chat rooms. 
> 
> Also, we're definitely going to be seeing some Jumin vs Seven here in the upcoming chapters. I'll hopefully be updating regularly, though I cannot tell you how regularly. Maybe every week? Every couple of days? It depends on how my writing block goes. 
> 
> Sorry this is a bit shorter than previous chapters!


	5. Hacked?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven learns of the hacking, Vanderwood arrives. 
> 
> Basically the story mode of Seven when the server gets hacked the second time ^.^

Sleeping was the last thing he felt like doing, but he knew that it was important to get some rest. If he didn’t have his wits about him, he would never be able to find the hacker that had hacked into the RFA server and brought MC into the closed group of friends. While he knew he needed to catch the hacker, and how serious the situation was, he couldn’t find himself wishing that he had been more thorough in preventing the RFA chatroom from being hacked.  _ I’d be lying if I said I did, because that would mean MC would have never been a part of the RFA and that....  _ The tightness in his chest made sleep difficult. 

“Hello. How can you sleep right now?” The oh-so familiar voice was already nagging him. “Don’t make me say wake up again. Where did I put my taser… Oh, here it is!” He would just have to play along. 

“Huh? Aarrgh!! Ms. Vanderwood!” He turned on his bed. “Madam! Please put that taser away! That’s for torture.” Groaning, he got out of bed and stretched as if he hadn’t spent the last hour thinking about the situation with the RFA.

“Don’t scream… You’re hurting my ears.” He said. “And quit calling me madam.” The usual scowl was on the agents face, serious as always. It was just… too tempting.

“Then Sir Vanderwood!”

“Stop joking around.”

“No.”

“Do you want me to hit you?”

“No!” He was trying not to smile, despite how serious the other agent was. They were never on the best of terms, but he liked Vanderwood well enough. The only person who knew the truth of his world. 

“Did you finish work?”

“No!”

“Are you doing that on purpose?” Arms crossed, Vanderwood sent him a glare that would have sent anyone else into a frenzy to appease him. 

“No. But when did you come in? The gate question changes at midnight...You managed to come in?!” Honestly, seeing someone from the agency was the last thing he needed. His focus for the past couple of days was nothing short of a goldfish. No… even a goldfish probably had a better attention span than he did right now.

“I carry around an Arabic dictionary because of you and don’t change the subject.” Vanderwood wasn’t in the mood for his games, it seemed. 

“No.” 

  
“Oh, I guess you’re not afraid of my taser gun then.” His hand moved to grab the very thing he was threatening to attack with.

“Alright, alright. You’re the boss and I’m ther servant right.” He put his hands up in false surrender to the very serious agent. 

“Just answer my question. Why haven’t you finished work?” Oh.. Well of course he had to ask the one question he didn’t have a real answer for. The obvious answer would have to be enough, because if he told Vanderwood that he couldn’t concentrate because he kept thinking of MC… and if that information got relayed to the agency…. _ Don’t even think about it! What if they have a mind reading machine in here?! _

“Because I didn’t work.”

For a moment he was simply stared at. “My arm is having a very hard time trying not to take out the taser gun.”

“Oh my god I can’t believe I didn’t finish work! Oh no! What should I do?” His hands covered his mouth as if he couldn’t believe what he had done, staring at Vanderwood completely shocked. So long as he didn’t ask about MC it would be fine. 

“Is it because you got paid with potato chips last time? Your performances have been really bad after that. The boss told me that you haven’t been doing very well lately.”  _ Stop asking why I’m not doing good! Don’t ask anymore. Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Don’t ask.  _

“I said I don’t care since I like those chips. So the Honey Buddha Chips have nothing to do with my recent performances. But I do have a prediction report saying that I’ll do really well if I get compensated with cars. Do you want to see it?” This would be the perfect distraction! He could get him to stop investigating why he wasn’t getting his work done. 

“Cars? If you get anything from an intelligence agency you’re just going to get traces. I wouldn;t take it for the world.”  _ Oh thank God he took the bait! _

“Oh, right. Cancel that.” He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, though he was really relieved that Vanderwood stopped asking about the ‘why’ part of work and just chalked it up to him being himself. 

“Why don't you ask them for a maid instead? Why is your house like this all the time? Empty soda cans, potato chip bags...And why did you shred up all that paper? Do you have ADHD or something? I can’t believe you manage to get work done here.” The way his maid’s nose crinkled up as he surveyed the surrounding mess was typical. 

“I was just about to say….my house is so dirty that I’m always distracted. The boss will understand once we give him a picture of my house.” He agreed solemnly, sparing a glance around at the empty chip bags and clusters of his favorite caffeinated beverage. 

“Yeah yeah what a great excuse.” The male rolled his eyes. “He’ll totally understand… Ugh! Your sofa smells like soda.” There was his favorite look of disgust!

“It’s the lovely scent of Ph.D Pepper.” He corrected matter-of-factly. “I get really focused once I drink it but once I'm finished it just makes my house more dirty.” This was the time to hook his bait. “Since my house is like this, I can’t help but imagine decoding all the dust particles that fly around here… “ His eyes scanned the room leisurely. “Huh?! Decoding it in my imagination is making me hallucinate all the palm oil particles from the Honey Buddha Chips multiplying exponentially!” He gasped, fingers touching his cheeks. “I want to eat them..! Oh god! I see cornstarch and honey particles floating around over there…!” Would there ever be a time that messing with Vanderwood didn’t ease some of the lingering bad feelings in his chest?

“What the hell are you talking about, you weirdo? Alright, I’ll clean up the house so just get back to work! You idiot.”  _ Yes! Two birds with one stone! MC is safe from the agency and my house gets cleaned!  _

“An idiot…? Aren’t you being too harsh to a genius secret agent right now?” He wiggled a finger at Vanderwood, smile on his face. It felt wrong to be smiling in such a situation.  _ I wonder if MC told Jumin about her identity. Did he decide he likes her? Does he want to marry her after all?  _ He didn’t like the thought of his MC giggling at Jumin’s jokes or holding his hand...

“I barely stopped myself from calling you a cockroach. Since your house is always like this, I don’t know if I come here to keep an eye on you or be your maid.” The comment broke him from his thoughts, and he wasn’t sure he was ever so thankful for a distraction from his own mind.

“Alright Vanderwood the 3rd… Sorry I treat you like a maid all the time. But will you first sweep the floor?” He asked, finally putting on his glasses so that he could see better. 

“Are you kidding me?” The disbelief was written all over the other agent’s face, mixed in with some underlying annoyance.

“No. If you’re not going to clean then I need to play a round of LOLOL. I’m serious.” No trace of his previous laughter. He didn’t feel like laughing after the image of MC and Jumin together crossed his mind. 

“What? God, seriously…”

Seven glanced over to his computer screen, brows furrowed. He’d not been away from it for very long. What had happened in the time that he’d tried to get any ounce of sleep? He took a step closer to the screen, eyes narrowed.“Huh? What... But why did my screen freeze?”

“How can you play games right now!?” He ignored the tone that came from his maid, though the guy didn’t realize that Seven simply annoyed him into cleaning for him all of the time because he didn’t feel like cleaning it up himself. 

“Vanderwood.. Come see this.”

The brunet took a good look at the screen and then looked to Seven. “...Hey, I think you got hacked.” His words barely even registered in his brain. What did he mean? That didn’t make any sense at all. 

“Me…? Hacked? This is.. This is the RFA messenger server..” He gasped, eyes going wide.  _ Not again. Not again. What was he after? Is MC okay? Is she at the apartment right now or is she out again? _

“Turn on the log. Hurry!” Like a switch being flipped, he sat in his chair and tried to figure out what the hacker could have wanted with the RFA. Was it the same one? When he finally did log into the chatroom, he couldn’t help but feel a childish giddiness in his chest that MC was there. Though.. With how many times he found himself speaking with her at ungodly hours in the morning.. Was she getting enough sleep? 

**MC: Seven! ! Run for your life!!** **  
** **Jaehee Kang: He is already late.**

**Jaehee Kang: Luciel, don’t you have something to say to me?**

**707: Meow?**

He chuckled at the emoji use. It seemed like everyone was pleased about having them, with how often they used them. He was glad he installed them into the chatrooms. He’d almost made some for MC, but he didn’t want the others to get a look at her, even in cartoon form.  _ Though it seems Zen and Jumin have already seen her… _

**MC: It seems he cannot speak human.**

**707: Meow meow~**

**Jaehee Kang: So you’re a cat.**

**707: Ya.**

**Jaehee Kang: Shouldn’t cats that age be neutered?**

Ouch. He physically winced at the idea, though he couldn’t help but re-read the responses MC gave. She was going along with him. She always did, and it was the cutest thing he had ever witnessed. 

**707: I apologize.**

**707: I made a grave mistake.**

**Jaehee Kang: …**

**Jaehee Kang: You should have just stayed quiet.**

**Jaehee Jang: What in the world**

**707:This is trouble**

**707: There was a bug!?!!**

He knew that already, but he didn’t want to worry MC. 

**MC: God Seven, where are you? Please save the world from all the bugs!!**

His heart nearly jumped out of his chest. “MC you’re so cute.” He sighed, his lips twitching upward. 

**707: The world is drowning in bugs as sleepless nights go by,**

**707: and rather than let the sensitive one, the cute one, and the game addict meet their downfall,**

**707: it’s time for me to come to the rescue**

**Jaehee Kang: You talk as if you’re a superhero…**

**Jaehee Kang: But itsn’t it your fault that there is a bug in the first place?**

She didn’t need to point it out. He was well aware that it was his fault. He should have put better protection on the server. They’d been hacked once before, but he… he was glad it happened. It brought the very girl who played along with his silliness in the chatroom, the one who helped his face remember what a smile felt like. He was smiling so much since she’d joined the RFA that it hurt his cheeks.

His chest tightened.  _ A great couple? No… this is just… we’re just messing around… it's not like that.  _ Things like a relationship… those were not things that he could have. He was grateful to Jaehee for not furthering the conversation on such a topic, because he didn’t think he could handle whatever MC might say. Would it be about Jumin? Though if Jaehee and MC weren’t talking about the meeting.. Then she hadn’t told Jumin? The lightness in his chest was sudden at the thought. No… romance between rich CEO and cute girl?

He found it much easier to admit that the messenger he had created had been hacked into. The entire situation unnerved him, and he needed to know that his friends were safe. Asking for Jumin to send security guards to the other members was the best that he could do.  _ But that still leaves MC unprotected. And she seems to leave her apartment and go all over town to run into Jumin and Zen both.  _ For now he would have to ask Vanderwood for help, though he knew that would require him to agree to work hard and fast to get work done for the agency.

For now, he would simply have to watch her through the CCTV he had installed at the apartment. All the time. He wouldn’t take his eyes off of it for a second.  _ Gah but I can’t do that. I guess I’ll have to ask for his help to watch her… How do I explain that one?  _ Really, he wanted to go run to her right away. No one could protect her better than he could. But.. no one would put her in more danger than him, as well.  _ Then there is the bomb… if the hacker learns about the special security system… _

For hours he checked the CCTV. Watching her leave the apartment, coming back, leaving, coming back. Being unable to focus every time she was gone, counting the seconds and hours she was away. He couldn’t help but finally he had to do it. He pressed her number and waited anxiously for her to pick up the phone. 

“It’s me…. I,uhm… I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what else to say. None of the words he usually had were coming into place, as if his brain could only think to apologize to the girl who was in so much danger. And she didn’t even know there was a bomb in the apartment. If anything were to happen... _ Don’t think about it. Don’t think. She is fine. The bomb… the hacker can’t know about that. Nothing will happen. _ “I’m sure you were surprised. I should have known better than to let hackers attack you…. I don’t know what to say.”

He didn’t want to know what she would say, and quickly kept talking. “It’s been a really long time… since someone attacked me so aggressively.”  _ And now you’re involved. You are stuck in this mess because of me… _ “I fixed everything back then so I thought everything was fine, but now this is happening again… I’m so sorry.”  _ Sorry won’t ever be enough. She’s in so much danger… _

“Hey, Seven?” Her voice… he didn’t deserve to hear it right now. “You can’t blame yourself for this.” Her usual playful tone was gone, and he could tell she was worried. “I know you say hackers are dangerous, but I’m perfectly safe at the apartment. Even if the hacker knows the location, don’t worry! God MC will punch him in the face if he shows up!” She declared, sounding so sure of herself. 

The laughter bubbled up in his chest, though it almost hurt to laugh. He was so worried about her and yet here she was, playing off the danger as though it weren’t anything major. Was she just naive or perhaps putting on a brave front for him because of how many times he apologized? “Oh? But then you’d be getting your pretty hands dirty! Don’t worry, Defender of Justice, God Seven Zero Seven, will make sure that you don’t have to hurt yourself by punching the hacker in the face!” 

Her giggle on the other end of the phone had his heart soaring. Vanderwood was giving him a stare, but he waved at him with one hand to signal he’d go back to doing work right after he finished his phone call. He needed to make sure she was okay. She… didn’t sound worried. Did she not understand the threat or…  _ or does she have that much faith in my ability to keep her safe? _ He would do whatever it took to prevent her from being harmed. He would do anything for her. That much was obvious to him the moment they’d begun talking. 

Except… Instead of working on his work for the agency, while Vanderwood left to grab more cleaning supplies from town, he’d ended up building a small black robotic dog. He wanted to make something of a watchdog, but the entire time his mind was simply on MC and her safety. How could he keep her safe? What could he do to ease any worry she may have? He finished it quickly, and spent much longer staring at it, wondering if she’d like it. What would she say? What would her face look like if he presented her with the small fiery robot?  _ Would she love it? Would she hate it? Gah~ I don’t like feeling like this! This is crazy! I need to focus on my work! Seven, focus! _

Slapping his cheeks, he resolved himself to work on what he needed for the agency, even if his concentration was shot. Vanderwood would come squabbling at him soon enough if he didn’t get his work done.  _ But if I don’t get this done… Vanderwood knows about MC now. This could put her in danger from the agency. Focus, Seven. For MC. I have to protect her. This.. this is what I can do for her right now. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I only posted this because I realized there's not much interesting happening that you've not already gone through. Expect a new chapter tomorrow though!


	6. Proposals and Camera Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Adventures of MC continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this was cute, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while writing it! As always, nothing is beta'd though having a beta would be great!

_ Seven is so worried about the hacker, I hope he isn’t overworking himself. I sent him a text an hour ago, but he still hasn’t answered. Is he doing okay?  _ Even though she knew worrying about him wouldn’t change anything, she couldn’t stop thinking about the humorous hacker. He seemed to run on little to no sleep.  _ If I could just find out where he lived, I could go there and make sure he got proper care, and then he wouldn’t have to worry about me and my safety because then I would be with him. _

Her thoughts were making it difficult to concentrate on typing up the new proposal for Jumin. Sitting cross legged on the sofa, she bit her lip, tapping a pencil against her brow. It was so simply, and yet here she was, just as unable to concentrate as Seven claimed he was.  _ Oh! I have an idea! He said.. The hallway, right? _ She smiled and picked up the company laptop she’d borrowed, one-by-one carrying her entire arsenal of planning and paperwork into the hallway. Proud of herself, she plopped down onto the ground, settling the laptop on her legs. This didn’t give her any more brain power, but it did give her an idea. 

Giggling to herself, she grabbed a marker and wrote down on her notepad, trying to make her handwriting look as nice as possible for as big of words as she was writing. It was silly, but she was worried Seven might think her handwriting was childish or ugly, so she spent extra time and effort on the hearts she’d dotted her ‘i’s with. 

**“I’M CHEERING FOR YOU, SEVEN! P.s. you’re doing your best. Don’t worry about me, ‘kay? I’m tough!”**

Even though she didn’t know how fast he could read, she decided to make a “strong arm” motion to show off her arm muscles. She giggled behind a hand and bit her lip, looking at the camera a moment. Oh! Right. She shouldn’t be distracting him further. She flipped the page of the notebook and quickly wrote down more words, less cautious about her handwriting. 

**“DO YOUR WORK, MISTER! - MC”**

Setting down the notebook, she went back to her own work. She couldn’t help but quickly latch onto her phone when it buzzed, the air on her face suddenly feeling much too cold. Seven sent a text, asking why she was sitting in the hallway. She smiled at her phone and quickly typed back, “ **_I wanted to hang out with you. So you focus on your work for the agency. I’m gonna work on my proposal. It’s less difficult when we work together, right?”_ ** As silly as it felt, she really did feel better sitting in the hallway, knowing Seven could see her. That he was right on the other side of the camera. 

The hours ticked down, and she found herself typing up the last clause of the renewed proposal around 2 in the morning. She’d missed plenty of conversations in the chatroom, but she had tried to keep up with what she could. So many things were going on conversationally because of the hacker and the bodyguard situation. Zen still wasn’t pleased that Seven wasn’t allowing anyone to know the address. He was right there with Yoosung, who was also wondering how he planned on protecting her through the CCTV if the hacker showed up to the location. Once again, MC had declared that she could protect herself. She wasn’t a damsel in distress. She’d horrified Yoosung when she’d explained that she’d come from America, and grew up with a couple of friends who were ‘ranchers’. She’d really gotten Zen freaked out when she’d told him about the time her horse had been running and fallen on her. Of course, they’d forgotten the moral of the story was that she could handle herself, and had instead asked if she had been okay, and scolded her to take better care of herself. 

Only Jaehee had even questioned the fact that she had come from America. 

The next morning, she got dressed and made a stop by the camera. She wasn’t even certain that Seven was watching, but she twirled in front of the camera anyways, wondering if he thought her outfit was okay for a meeting with Jumin. MC threw her hands out to the side casually, silently asking “what do you think” since she wasn’t certain he could hear her through the cameras. Only see her. Letting out a breath of air, she nodded to herself once and grabbed her proposal. She should have just emailed it to him and then had him talk with her. But she needed to do it in person. 

She met the company car at the same Marty’s that she’d been dropped off at last time. It was the perfect pick-up spot. Close enough to the apartment to walk but far enough that he couldn’t see where she came from even if he got there before her - which he didn’t. She’d beaten Mr. Park to the store and had been able to grab a light breakfast. By the time he arrived, she was fed and her nerves were steadily on the rise. Did Seven tell Jumin who she was? They didn’t mention it in the chatroom, but what if he knew? What if he called her out and claimed she was working with the hacker?

_ Don’t think about that right now, MC. This is about the business partnership. The proposal. It’s more important than how you feel right now.  _ Though, when she walked through the doors she wasn’t expecting to be patted down by security. Nor was she expecting to see a fleet of model-like men dressed in black suits surrounding Jaehee, who acted as though they didn’t exist.  _ I think they may have gone a little overboard. _ She knew it was serious, but could one hacker really pose that big of a threat? How many hackers were also skilled in combat?

_ I once sucker punched my cousin in the gut just because he deserved it and he dropped to the ground and he was in the military. Should we really be so concerned?  _ If Seven was that worried, should she be less nonchalant about the whole thing? Was she freaking him out more because she wasn’t worried?  _ Gah, I wish he would just talk to me about these things. _

“Ms. Song, this way.” Jaehee spoke, interrupting her thoughts. The woman’s hazel eyes stared at her from behind her frames, holding open the elevator for her. Blinking, MC quickly entered the elevator, feeling jittery. Focus. Right. She needed to focus on what was happening right now. Her meeting with Jumin. It was bound to be a nightmare after her outburst the other day. Sure it was a couple of days ago, but really… how forgiving was Jumin really going to be if she didn’t convince him that she didn’t want to marry him? Even if she felt like she was close with him… she had to remember that she was MC Song of the Freitz company, not MC from the RFA chatroom. 

The silence between herself and Jaehee was awkward. If she could say something to ease the discomfort she felt in the slightly cramped elevator, she would. Shifting, she tried to find the right words to say. “Do not mind the bodyguards. They’re for personal reasons and do not involve your meeting with Mr. Han.” Is that what she had assumed? That she was nervous because of her guards? She nearly giggled at the thought. 

“I see. Thank you, Jae-Assistant Kang.” She nearly slipped up again. Was she ever going to be good at this? It would be so much easier to tell them who she was. Letting out a sigh, she decided to at least let Jaehee know. “Ah, er.. Actually.” She glanced at the numbers. They had time before they reached Jumin’s office. “Jaehee… It’s me.. I’m MC Song, yes, but..” How did she word this? She dug into her purse and pulled out her cell phone and opened up the chatroom, turning the screen to the woman. “I… well.. I didn’t know how to tell you.” She shifted again. “Please don’t hate me.”

It was just like her to simply blink in her surprise. Taking it in stride like the cautious woman she was, who had probably already suspected such a thing. “I did wonder… though I didn’t believe it.” She admitted, pushing up her glasses. “This should be a simple enough meeting then, when we tell Mr. Han-”

“No!” MC shouted a bit too loud. Her shout startled Jaehee, and she felt the heat rising in her cheeks. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just… I don’t want there to be any bias in his decision. I am on vacation, technically. This wasn’t supposed to be my deal. And I know how he feels about Glam Choi and his father’s girlfriends. So if he decides to cooperate with my family’s company, I’d like it to be because he truly believes we can be an asset. I know he says emotions don’t influence him but…”

The call she’d received the other night. He had been talking about how her voice made him feel better in his confusion and his emotions. She’d stayed on the phone with him, talking and trying to figure out what he meant. “He told Elizabeth the 3rd to wait while we were on the phone the other day. I can’t say he isn’t being emotional right now.” She admitted, slipping her phone back into her purse. She followed Jaehee down the hallway. His office was at the end, though it was quite the walk. “I just… I will tell him after he makes his decision. And whatever choice he makes, I won’t allow him to back out once it is made.” She concluded. 

“It’s kind of amusing, actually.” Jaehee admitted as she walked, heels clicking along the floor. “Mr. Han has been quite curious about you.” She paused at the door and knocked. “Mr. Han, Ms. Song is here.” They shared a glance, and MC knew that she could count on the woman to not tell her boss about the truth. She would let MC do it on her own time. She smiled at her as a thanks, before she entered the office and bowed to Jumin, giving him a smile she hoped was platonic rather than flirtatious.

“Ms. Song, take a seat.” Jumin directed, motioning with his hand to further persuade her to do exactly as he said. She didn’t sit immediately, watching him carefully. He did not look upset, but she glanced at Jaehee anyways for support. Unfortunately, the woman had already steeled her expression into a careful neutral, likely wanting to see how this played out. Great.  _ Jaehee are you really going to watch me suffer? _ She silently pleaded, though she returned her gaze to Jumin’s. His eyes weren’t as cold as when they’d first met, he looked much more curious about her than ready to throw her out of his office. 

“Thank you for reconsidering our proposal, Mr. Han.” She held out the proposal. “I think you will find this much more professional, without any personal ties. It is entirely company-based, and I included a page of pros and cons to the partnership. Honesty is always the best policy. Even if you decide to turn down this agreement, I will accept that.” She knew that starting off a meeting with such information was normally wrong. She would have screwed up right away. But this was Jumin Han. She knew him. Knew the things he liked or preferred. Honesty was always important. 

As he read through the proposal, she noticed his perfectly groomed eyebrows raise. He must have gotten to the part about how her company was doing despite the downfall of their reputation and value. She’d been a major player in bringing the company back from the near-grave it had been dug in. Being able to talk with people easily had always been called “charm”, but she just thought that being polite was necessary. She’d helped a couple of on-the-rise celebrities a couple of times without realizing who they were, and in turn they’d offered to be the face to help bring back up their reputation. Echo Girl was a regular user of their dietary supplement products, and when she was younger she had babysat the children of the Korean ambassador in the United States. His wife had been the one to insist on helping her family’s company.

All of this was not written in the report, though she did touch base on the supporters behind the company so far, and that by partnering with their company, they’d be offering an extension of that support to their own company. “This is… quite impressive. You wrote this proposal yourself? In two days?” He looked mildly impressed, and MC couldn’t help but sit a little straighter, nearly beaming at the compliment from Jumin. She nodded, since words were failing her. “Quite thorough indeed.” She didn’t need to point out that she’d hardly had any sleep, or that she’d spent hours on the phone with Seven having a panic attack about confessing to Jumin who she truly was. 

“Thank you I-”  _ Is he signing the proposal? He didn’t even finish reading it!  _ While she knew she should be thrilled - this was a big deal for her family and the company, after all - something felt off about the entire situation. Was he signing it because he knew that she was the girl from the messenger? She knew that they’d spoken quite a bit, and it’s not like her voice magically changed from over the phone to in person, but everyone sounded slightly different over the phone. Their voice was different in real life than through the speaker. Unless…  _ Did Seven end up telling him? _

“You are an interesting woman, MC.” Jumin spoke clearly. “I would like to continue working with you and your family’s company on this project. There are not many women who approach me without obvious intentions. You’re honest.” He set down his pen, the sunlight filtering through the windows behind his desk, bouncing off the diamond embedded into the incredibly expensive pen. She smiled softly - he found it, then. She was glad that he had found the gift from his father. He had valued it a lot. 

“I suppose I should take that as a compliment, from the same man who is known for his lack of response to the female gender.” She giggled, though she’d realized something in the moments of sitting with Jumin Han. There was practically an army of bodyguards outside of the door. She wouldn’t be able to leave easily if he found out her identity right then and there.  _ Sorry Jaehee… I can’t tell him right now. I… I’ll call him when I get back to the apartment. Yeah. That is what I’ll do.  _ “If that is all, I should be going. Thank you for your reconsideration, Mr. Han.” She stood and bowed. This was what she wanted, but she felt like she was tricking him somehow. It didn’t settle with her very well. 

Even as she left the C&R building, walking mindlessly through the streets in the general direction of the apartment, she found herself going off course. When she realized she’d gotten pretty far from the apartment, she ended up on the subway.  _ I should just tell him. I don’t know what else to do though. With this whole hacker situation going on. I feel like the only one I can really talk to is Seven. But even then… he avoids talking about serious things.  _ She let out a sigh, though noticed a group of burly bodyguards. Perking up, she glanced through the guards and gasped. “Zen!” His name left her lips before she even realized what she was doing. 

The bodyguards initially reacted with glares and tense shoulders, but the man whose name she called appeared, peeking through them. “Well aren’t you a cute lady~” He winked, then snapped his fingers. “Hey we’ve met before.” He said something she couldn’t hear to one of the guards, and they all stood down. Weaving through the crowd of the subway, he made his way closer to her. “Do you want a selfie this time?” He asked, raising his brows. 

“Ah.” She giggled, looking at him with a smile. “Actually, I think I have something better.” Though it wouldn’t be easy to come out and say it, she wanted to talk. “First, I’m surprised you’re not in a van like Yoosung.” His eyebrows rose in surprise, but keeping it all a secret was just too much. She needed someone to talk to about everything. And Zen had always offered his hand. Offered his support. Without thinking, she grabbed his hands, looking up at him, hoping he could understand what she was about to say. “Zen, my name is MC.” She swallowed, blinking up at him. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you considering the situation with the hacker but-”

“MC?!” At first it hadn’t registered, but she saw it click in his red eyes. His hands left her own, only to wrap her in a big hug. “Oh my God! I am so happy to see you! I’ve been wondering what you look like for days now… I know Seven said you were cute but he didn’t say that you were absolutely stunning.” He seemed to be scanning her for any wounds or injuries. “What are you doing out of the apartment? Isn’t Seven supposed to be watching you? Grr… that guy… how can he claim he is protecting you? Look at you! You’re here all alone!”

_ Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all.  _ She laughed a bit, gently pushing Zen’s hands down. “Don’t get so worked up, Zenny~:” While she was hoping it worked, she wasn’t expecting him to stare at her, nor was she expecting the red that lit up his cheeks at her words. Blush? Zen? “Oh my gosh! I got Zen to blush?” She pumped her fist in the air, proud of herself despite it being unintentional. “I told you guys, you don’t have to worry about me! No hacker is going to beat me in a fight! You may work out on a regular basis, but I’m a fighting machine! Pow, pow!” She put her fists up as if she were going to box. 

“Hey don’t let go of the rail!” The sudden lurch from the subway sent her right into Zen, who wrapped an arm around her waist protectively. “MC that was so careless of you.” He looked down at her, “Are you okay?” Their eyes met, and his voice trailed off into silence. “You shouldn’t be so reckless, MC.” He spoke softly after a moment, ruby gaze not once leaving her own. 

She smiled at him and pushed against his chest to loosen his grip. “And I said don’t worry about me, Zen. I’m a big girl. I’ve survived much worse than some hacker. If he was going to hurt me, don’t you think he would have done so already? I mean, he was the one who tricked me into going to the apartment in the first place.” She reminded him, noticing that his hand was still lightly resting on her hip, ready to catch her in the event that she was thrown around again. “Oh! This was my stop. Gotta go!” She realized with a start, jerking out of Zen’s grasp and waving at him with a smile. “Bye, Zenny~ Have fun with your bodyguards!” She giggled at his yelling after her, though the subway doors closed just before he could get off of the train. 

“Wow~ What a day.” She breathed, walking up the stairs from the underground train, taking a moment to recall where exactly she was. Her phone was buzzing, but she decided against answering. It was probably Zen scolding her for running off. He would get over it. Zen was too kind of a guy to be mad at her for too long. 


	7. The Hacker...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angsty boy arrives

Things were beginning to work out. Even if it had been more than a little awkward at first, MC had quickly found a comfortable rhythm in the RFA. She chatted with the guys and Jaehee often, and even with the looming threat of the hacker, she felt more than a little comfortable. The apartment was still awkward to be at, considering she felt as though she couldn’t change or touch anything that might have been Rika’s personal belongings. She’d expressed this nervousness to Zen, who’d taken pity on her for being stuck in such a place. Her small outings here and there were the highlight of her day. Due to being busy, she hadn’t seen Zen much outside of the chatroom, though he did ask to meet up on occasion. Yoosung had been extremely jealous that he’d seen her face, but left it at that.

She spent a lot of time sitting on the floor in the hallway, writing messages to Seven. Sometimes they were responded to through text. Others he would call her, and they’d talk on the phone while she looked at the camera, just imagining what he might look like. It should have felt more awkward to have him checking the CCTV every 2.35 seconds. Knowing that he was keeping a close eye on her really should have set off some kind of warning in her head. 

Instead, she had gotten text messages throughout the day of comments about her little habits. Such as how he had thought it was cute that she’d scrambled from the room when she heard her phone going off because he had texted her, and slipped in her socks. Of course, he’d been worried as well, asking if she’d hurt herself, but how embarrassing! To be caught on camera, watched by someone she was certain she was falling for, falling down because she slipped on the floor in her socks!

She’d had to remind herself of the camera constantly, though in rare moments she forgot about it, she usually ended up doing something extremely embarrassing. Like this morning, when she’d worn her unicorn onesie down the hallway, but got hot and shed it halfway to the living room of the apartment, leaving herself in her tank top and underwear. Even worse, Seven didn’t mention it except in a joking matter in a chatroom at lunch time! She could have died right then and there. 

Now she was stuck. Seven was freaking out about the hacker - something to do with the special security system? He didn’t explain anything, but simply claimed he was coming over. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she’d found herself fumbling around the place to hide anything embarrassing he might see, such as her favorite stuffed leopard - she knew she was “too old” to have it, but since it was a gift from  _ him  _ she had found it difficult to give it up. Even if she never wanted to speak to him again. 

_ Should I be panicking too? This entire time Seven said he can’t come here, even if he wants to. And now all of a sudden he’s rushing over here? And what was that about me not leaving?  _ She let out a sigh, plopping herself down onto the sofa. Should she just trust in Seven and stay put? It’s not like she had anywhere to go. It was nearly 8 o’clock. She was already in her pajamas, though being told to “stay inside” only fueled her desire to not be controlled.  _ I’m tempted to go outside just because he told me not to, but he sounded really afraid. I don’t think I’ve heard him sound that serious before. _

Even though she decided to listen to him, she found that her nerves wouldn’t come under control. Between fiddling her fingers together, tapping her foot like crazy, and overall being unable to stay still, she needed to do  _ something _ before she drove herself mad waiting to know what was going on with Seven. The buzz of her phone snapped her to attention, glancing around before answering. 

“Hey Zen-”

“MC! Are you okay? What was all of that about in the chatroom? You’re not hurt, are you?” Zen sounded just as worried as Seven, and suddenly she felt like she was massively too unconcerned about the entire situation. 

“I’m really okay. I just wish Seven would tell me what’s going on. Like why is he coming here so suddenly, I thought he had a lot of work to do? But whatever the special security system is, it freaked him out enough that he is suddenly on his way over at the drop of a dime?” She couldn’t understand what could be so dangerous that he would just up and leave his home and work. 

“Did… you not see the other chatroom?” He almost sounded hesitant to tell her, but she confirmed what he’d said; she’d not opened the chatroom since Seven had told her to stay put, too lost in thought. “He logged back in momentarily... “ Zen’s growl was quite unexpected, and even more so was the rush of heat to her cheeks at the sound in her ear suddenly. “The damn special security is a bomb! And he didn’t even think of telling anyone about it!”

Her entire body felt cold.  _ Did he just say there is a bomb? In the apartment?  _ She tried to wrap her head around that, but it would make sense. The only thing to get Seven to come to the apartment was- “Wait!” Zen had been rambling about the bomb, and how Seven claimed it operated. “If it’s that dangerous he can’t come! I need to call Seven, sorry Zen. Bye!” She hung up and dialed the hacker, though he didn’t pick up. Was he okay? 

The only thing she could do was text him:  **Don’t come.**

He didn’t answer her message either, and as the minutes ticked by, she grew more anxious. She couldn’t even bring herself to answer Jumin’s phone call. Everyone was likely worried about her, but what about Seven? He was on his way to her, where a bomb was. And if it went off because of his arrival.. Not only Seven, but everyone who lived in the building would be killed! “Gah!” It wasn’t like she could leave and go come up with an excuse for each tenant to evacuate. Could she call the cops? Strangers could show up, right? Just not the members of the RFA, right? What if she told them?

She almost didn’t catch the sound of the voice playing overhead. Blinking, she looked up.  _ Oh no! Is it activating? Seven needs to stay far away! What about the others in the building? What can I do? I should have met all of the neighbors… then I could have messaged them all to leave or something.  _

_ Crash _ ! Her head swiveled to the window, staring at the figure. His words were lost on her ears, though she knew exactly who he was. “You’re the hacker…” It was an obvious statement, though his words were not exactly what she expected from a hacker. He was worried about her feet? Glass sucked to pull out of skin, but it wouldn’t be the most painful thing she’d gone through. 

“You’re pretty clever, aren’t you?” His voice was strange, did he have some kind of modifier on? What would he need that for? More importantly…

“You don’t look anything like the picture you sent me. I mean, I know I shouldn’t have trusted you after all of this, but really?” She crossed her arms over her chest. It was a poor attempt to mask her growing unease, but she needed to do something to make herself feel better. She couldn’t just stand there. She was MC. She was not a damsel in distress. She’d faced off with thousand pound animals before. She had stepped on legos three times in one night before. This was nothing. 

“W-what?” He stared at her, as though what she said was not what he’d expected at all. “Whatever. I’ve come to take you to paradise. You will be the first to come to Magenta.... The RFA is only full of false hope.” His eyes seemed to darken. “Especially V and Luciel. They are not invited.”

“What are you? A three year old throwing a fit? What’s wrong with Seven?” She demanded, stepped forward despite his warning. Her own eyes were narrowed.  _ Would it be wrong to hit this guy in the face? So far he hasn’t done anything bad, and he knew the passcode to the door… is he related to Rika somehow? We don’t even know that much. _

“I expected you to resist, but I was not expecting you to defend that filth.” He looked almost disappointed, though she didn’t care about that. Who was this guy, who knew Seven’s baptismal name? Who held a grudge against him?  _ Oh no! Seven is coming here. Can I get rid of this guy before he shows up? _

_ “The special security system has been deactivated.” _

“God that was tough…. I made it, but it’s so damn hard. How the hell did they complicate my already complicated algorithm?” No! He was the one the hacker was after, from what the guy was saying. He needed to get out of there! In a panic, MC spun, sending a punch directly to the masked man’s face. It had been unexpected enough that the guy stumbled back a couple of steps. He grabbed onto her arm, dragging her back with him. 

“Even now, all you do is just ruin my life. She is coming to Magenta with me. You’re not invited! Though… you’ve probably forgotten all about me, haven’t you?” One hand was holding onto MC, the other was used to pull down his mask. Twisting as much as she could in his grasp, she stared at his facial features. He looked oddly… similar to…

“Okay you’re not allowed to be cute  _ and _ the bad guy!” She groaned. Anytime a villain appeared in a TV show and he was cute, she usually ended up liking him because of his humor and wit. But she always complained that real bad guys weren’t attractive. Being proven wrong was salt on an open wound. “That’s just my luck!” She whined. His arm pressed closer to her neck, and she was fed up. Just when she was about to bite his arm to get him to release her, he held up something in his hand. 

She knew that they were talking about something important - Seven knew this man. “Unknown” was given the name “Saeran” out of Seven’s very lips, which was accepted and yet denied by the man. It was more curiosity than helplessness that kept her from escaping the rather weak grip against her. Did he think she was weak?  _ I suppose that’s the typical trope for a girl. To be weak. Needing to be saved. But I told Seven I don’t need any help. And I’m not going to.. Wait. This guy was with Rika? _ Tuning back into the conversation, she caught the gist - he had to be Seven’s relative or old childhood friend. She’d guess relative, judging by how similar they were in appearance despite the obvious differences. 

“There’s no reason to involve her in this! Don’t do something to her because of me… Please..” He… was begging him to leave her alone?  _ I think it’s time to get out of this situation. I’m causing Seven to worry like this. _

“Hmm~ Do you have feelings for this girl or something?”

“...Even if I do, it’s useless.” Wait. What? She stared at Seven, but he wasn’t looking at her. His pleading gaze was locked on Saeran.  _ I thought we were getting along pretty well. Why is it useless? Do you not like me?  _ She was lost in her own head until Seven screamed her name. Blinking, she stared at him a moment. Oh… she was supposed to get out of Saeran’s grasp. 

In her own frustration at Seven’s lack of explaining everything, as well as a rather crappy excuse for a… was it a rejection or confession? Or both?  _ Gah! Why are boys so complicated? _ She stomped down on Saeran’s foot, slamming an elbow into his face.. His grip loosened as he doubled over, allowing her to dolphin dive away from him, more out of sheer desire to do something dramatic than because she actually needed to. The ground was much harder than she remembered.

Seven was helping her to her feet only moments later, eyes scanning over her to check for any injuries. It would have been more sweet and heartfelt if he wasn’t very obviously keeping a distance between them. She tilted her head, studying him just as closely as he was her. His hand receded from her face, and her hands reached out to grab his before he could let them drop completely. “You can’t be here. If there is a bomb it’s not safe for you-”

“It’s fine, I fixed it.” Seven waved off her concerns. 

“But if Saeran-” She noticed his very visible flinch at the use of the name of Unknown, “I mean the hacker… if he changes it again then you’ll be at risk! You can’t stay here!” She was already trying to shove him towards the door. 

“I’m not going anywhere! He came here to take you! You’re in danger here, MC!” He snapped, turning to face her and grabbing both her wrists in his hands. His anger kept her in place, his eyes were so full of anger, but… they were also so much more beautiful in person than in any picture. Behind his wacky frames, they were so full of emotions. He was just emotional right now. Whatever had transpired, it was too much for him to process. 

She stopped fighting his grip and smiled at him. “Didn’t I tell you God MC will punch him in the face? I mean… I think I did pretty good, no?” Even though she knew he didn’t feel like smiling, the way the corners of his lips twitched upwards, the tiniest spark of humor in his eyes… she felt pretty proud of herself. 

“Now isn’t the time to joke around, MC. You were in serious danger.” He didn’t respond to her joke, which was quite disappointing, though she expected as much. Seven had a lot of things going on in his head right now. 

Still… she could be a little happy that he was still basically holding her hands, right?  _ I’m allowed to have this small win after pretty much hearing he may have feelings for me too, but will likely never act on them judging from the way he said it was useless… man this boy is going to cause me so much trouble, isn’t he? _ She noticed that he realized he was still holding onto her, and the blush that rose in his cheeks as he quickly released her.  _ Still, he’s quite adorable. _

“Hey.. I told you not to worry, yeah?” She tried to get him to meet her eyes, but he wouldn’t look at her. Sighing, she stepped back and walked into the kitchen. She’d need to clean up the glass from the floor. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m going to die some day. Today just happened to not be the day I go.” That never seemed to make anyone but her feel better when she got herself into crazy situations like this, all usually stemming from her own inability to say “NO” to anyone who needed help. 

“MC don’t say that!” Well, that certainly had him looking at her - like she was absolutely crazy or like she was about to jump off the roof of a building, she wasn’t too certain yet. Either way, it was more of a reaction than she’d been expecting. 

Her response was a shrug, bringing the broom back over to the window. She was careful to not step in glass, ignoring Seven’s insistence to let him clean up the glass. Waving him off with a hand, she swept the glass up. “You came here to save me, remember? All worried and stuff. I said I was fine. Therefore, you now get to shut up and stop being so worried about me.” She was throwing away her third pan of glass already. “I may be clumsy but I’m not going to- er- scratch that. I don’t want to jinx myself already.” She raised a brow. “You said you were bringing stuff with you, right? Why don’t you go bring it in if you’re planning on staying here?”

_ I want to ask about Saeran… but now is definitely not the time. He is too wound up. How can I help him relax? A shoulder massage? I really just want a hug, but I think he’d just reject me right now. Maybe some tea?  _ She glanced over to him, but there was hardly any expression on his face. “I was going to meet Zen tomorrow for coffee. Will you be coming with me?”

“What? Why are you meeting Zen?” His voice betrayed the neutral expression he’d tried to maintain, though she didn’t know why he would be upset about her meeting with the actor. He’d been one of her only pillars recently, with Seven obviously trying to distance himself in his own way, despite their many conversations and laughs. 

“So I don’t go stir-crazy in this apartment. But if you’re here, I think staying here wouldn’t be so bad. The company would be nice…” She admitted, looking towards the ground. “I know you’re busy, and I’m sure you have… a lot to think about… but… please don’t shut me out so soon, Seven.” 

His back turned towards her, and she could just barely make out something about them not having a close enough relationship for him to be shutting her out. She let out a sigh, clenching her teeth to avoid the tears that wanted to form. She would not cry over such words. Not again. 

  
“Look, I’m not going to hide my obvious feelings for you. But I’m scared too, Seven.” She stated. “I…”  _ It’s not even worth it right now. He’s not going to listen in this state. And… I don’t think I can take being rejected right now after almost being blown up. He cares, at least. And right now… that has to be enough. _ “I’ll help bring your stuff inside, just tell me where you want it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOHhhkaayy~
> 
> So.. uh.. I have more chapters written, right? Well, I had a plan, right? And as I wrote the chapters, they kind of seemed to write themselves and my plan just went... *throws papers in the air to scatter into the wind of the unknown* 
> 
> I think Seven or Saeran hacked my computer and changed the plan as I was writing it. 
> 
> Oh well. Let's see how this goes, shall we?
> 
> It's about to get pretty crazy. Some upcoming ZenxMC? JuminxMC? Jealous Seven? Hehehehe


	8. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC doesn't take being ignored lightly.

He was being impossible! After the entire panic attack he’d had mere hours ago, he was simply ignoring her?  _ Nuh-uh. I am NOT accepting that.  _ She had half a mind to grab him firmly by the shoulders and shake some common sense into him. His back turned to her, his final move of shutting her out, was so childish! As though he were pouting in the corner!

“Seven stop ignoring me.” She sat with her back resting against his. When he wiggled his shoulders in an attempt to shove her off of him, she slumped against him more, resting even more weight on him. “I’d be okay with it if you were just busy, but that’s not what this is.” She didn’t understand why he was suddenly blocking her out. “You promised every 2.35 seconds, remember? But you haven’t looked at me once. What if I choked on something and died?” 

“Go away, MC. I already told you that I don’t want a personal relationship with you. I am only here because I was the one who got you into this mess.” Oh, right. She’d forgotten that the stance he’d chosen to take right off the bat was claiming not to like her, not being interested, that their conversations in the chatroom were nothing but a way for him to pass the time. That she wasn’t anything to him. That she didn’t know him. It hurt - she’d be lying if she said that his words completely unaffected her - but she also knew he was lying to himself as well. She could see it. To hurt her, he had to lie to both of them. 

That didn’t mean that she was just going to allow him to be selfish as he pleased. “I know what you said. But I’m a firm believer in actions speaking louder than words - especially if they’re harsh lies you’re saying just to push me away. I don’t know if you’re just trying not to get hurt yourself, or if you think that you’re protecting me in some twisted way, but you came here for me. Because you were worried.”

“Hate to break it to you, MC, but you’re not the only one in this place. If the bomb went off, you as well as the rest of the building, would have been completely obliterated.” His words were another knife he was adding in her chest, twisting it deeper inside, but yet she wasn’t dead. 

“Okay, say that’s true,” She rolled her eyes, “but you still called me. You said it yourself ‘please be okay’ on the phone. You really expect me to believe that everything we’ve talked about, all of those laughs were fake? Pointless? Do you think I blame you like you do yourself?” She decided to scoot away from him, since being in his personal space only annoyed him further. “Technically, Seven, if you want to be completely blunt here, it was Unknown who brought me here and my own decision. It was Rika who asked for the bomb, and you simply obliged  _ her _ request. To be honest, I’m kind of sick of everyone talking about Rika as though she were some saint, when she asked for a bomb that would  _ take out an entire building and- _ ”

“Stop it!” He shouted, turning to glare at her. Flinching at his slightly raised hand, she stared at him. He really was in a bad place, but he wasn’t the only one who was having a whirlwind of emotions about the situation. Her own thoughts were a plate of spaghetti, and just when she thought she was following the right noodle someone chopped it off with a fork and knife, leaving her to never find the end. “Just go to bed, MC. I’m trying to work.”

Seven looked exhausted, and she could only assume that was what he looked like on a regular basis, with little sleep. His online presence wasn’t a facade, but an escape. He could pretend like those conversations were not real, but he couldn’t fake his worry over her, right? “Fine, I’ll leave you alone.”

It was simply out of spite that she sat on the couch and called Zen. She knew that it was a stupid and childish move, but Seven was being a complete jerk! Even more so, he was lying right to her face and acting like it wasn’t a lie at all. It  _ hurt _ to be so completely shut out by someone she’d put so much of her trust in. Someone she’d felt comfortable calling at 3 am when she had doubts about her own abilities to be a good guest coordinator. 

“Hey Zenny~ Are you busy?” She knew one person she could count on no matter what. The only person who had always been ready to open his arms to her at the drop of a dime. 

“MC? I’m not busy. Seven’s with you right? I’m surprised you even called. I thought for sure you two would end up in your own little world chatting until the sun came up - n-not that I’m encouraging that! All men are wolves! Don’t let Seven fool you!” If he wasn’t so wrong she might have laughed at his concern. The most his worries stirred in her was the tiniest of smiles. 

“Oh, that’s because Seven is too busy with work~” Forcing herself to not look at the hacker was difficult, even if it looked like he was trying to listen in from the corner of her eye. “Are we still going to meet up at the coffee shop tomorrow?” She noticed Seven stiffen. He’d already said she needed to stay within his sight. But if he was going to ignore her then why should she even listen? “I need a break from the chaos. Oh, and don’t worry about the bomb. Seven fixed it, so I should be able to leave without blowing up. The hacker showed up right before Seven did. You’d be so proud of me, Zenny~” She was pretty damn proud of herself, actually. “I elbowed him right in the face! My feet are a little cut up from the glass, though. I had to pull shards out and clean them up.”

“Yeah we- you did what?!” Zen’s screech was loud enough that she’d had to pull her phone away from her ear, giggling slightly. “What do you mean you cut up your feet? Wasn’t Seven protecting you? What is that guy doing? Jeez…” There was no one in the RFA quite as dramatic as the actor, though she knew he had good intentions. He was quite full of himself, but when he wasn’t telling everyone how good looking he was, he really was a reliable friend. 

“Don’t worry about me, I am fine. You shouldn’t be so worried, since if anything happens to me you can just find another random girl to replace me with and chat up since all of our conversations are pointless~”  _ I shouldn’t have said that. Even if I’m hurt by Seven, I shouldn’t lash out. He already feels bad enough.  _ She probably shouldn’t have said it with such a cheery tone either. 

“You can’t be serious!” Zen’s voice was loud in her ear. “MC don’t say things like that! You can’t be replaced! Why would you think something like that? Is it because Yoosung always compares you to Rika? That boy… I’ll go teach him some proper manners, okay, so don’t think like that.” Her chest tightened, wetness building up in her eyes. “Our conversations aren’t pointless. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright. Good night, Zen.” She let him click the end button, setting her phone on her lap. Looking up, she jolted, sending her phone clattering to the floor. She’d not been expecting Seven to be standing over her, arms crossed. He’d been in his corner just moments before. She hadn’t even sensed his presence! 

“You shouldn’t say things like that to any of them. Just because you’re upset with me, doesn’t mean you should take it out on them, MC.” He wasn’t wrong, but hearing him say that right now, of all people, really pushed the wrong buttons. 

MC jumped to her feet, hissing from the stinging reminder that she’d stepped in glass earlier just to spite the boy who turned out to be Seven’s brother, looking up at Seven with narrowed eyes. “Oh but it’s okay for you to take out your feelings on me because the people you trusted turned out to be lying to you about your brother? But I’m not allowed to be upset, right? I don’t get to be anything other than happy and cheerful and understanding of you and your situation!” She poked her finger into his chest. 

His hair covered his eyes, not meeting her own gaze any longer. Great.  _ Way to make him feel even worse, MC. _ Air left her lips, though she reached out, taking Seven’s hand in hers. “I don’t blame you for any of this, Seven. And I certainly won’t hold it against you if you don’t want to be involved with me. But please…  _ just be honest.  _ If you really feel how you say you feel, then tell me so I know it’s the truth. And I’ll drop it.” She squeezed his hand, but he pulled it away from her. “I’m persistent, but I’m not going to pressure you if you really don’t want anything to do with me.”

“Just leave me alone, MC. Please.” His voice cracked. She took a half-step towards him, already prepared to offer herself as a sort of coping mechanism, but she realized what he was saying. She swallowed the stinging sensation in her chest, and ignored the burn in her eyes. 

“Okay.”

She was grateful that her room was separated from the rest of the apartment. It wasn’t as embarrassing to cry herself to sleep when she knew Seven wasn’t watching. How long had it been since she’d done such a childish thing?  _ I haven’t cried since  _ him. 

The next morning she was ready to tackle the day. Her mother kept her on the phone for an hour, rambling excitedly about how pleased she was with her ability to secure the partnership with C&R despite her disappointment that MC would not be marrying into such a family. Even so, the proposal she’d written up had even impressed her dad, which only furthered her pride in her abilities.  _ At least I can do something right. _

Seven still sat on the floor in the corner, a couple of bags of Honey Buddha Chips and empty cans of Dr. Pepper littered the floor. Was this how he lived his life? She stayed quiet as she collected the cans, though jumped at Seven’s voice when she began on the chip bags. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll clean it up.”

“O-oh. Don’t worry about it. I’m restless anyways, and you’re busy. It’s the least I can do. Just think of me as Mary Vanderwood the 3rd.” She snatched up the last empty chip bag, throwing it in the trash. Had he been awake all night? MC placed a new bag of his favorite potato chip next to him, as well as some more Dr. Pepper. “You should also get some rest. Sleep in the bed. I can sleep on the couch.” She offered. 

“Don’t worry about me. Just pretend I’m not here.” He stated, eyes not leaving the screen. His fingers continued to click softly against the keys of the laptop he’d brought with him. So he truly intended to simply ignore her, acting like she wasn’t really there at all. Did that mean he also intended to just run away from the RFA once he could find the hacker? Yoosung would be devastated if he did that without any warning. If he just disappeared… he would hurt a lot of people, not just her.

The white robotic cat had caught her attention a while ago, but she’d avoided asking about it since he’d been really tense and snappy before. “Is that… did you make that for me?” She really would have taken the fire-breathing dog. If it wasn’t more than likely an illegal weapon she’d go to jail for having, she definitely would have taken it. This was cute too, though. He didn’t respond, though it seemed that was the decision he had come to - ignoring her would make it better, right? If he ignored it, it’d leave him alone?

She busied herself with finding a jar in the kitchen. The morning hours ticked by as she painted and decorated the jar with what she could find lying around in the apartment. She was hardly paying attention to the chatroom, despite the app being open next to her. Occasionally she’d glance at the topic and type a quick reply, but she spent most of her time cutting out little slips of paper and writing on them, sticking them into the jar that she’d decorated to match Seven’s signature color theme.

It sat on the table even as she cleaned up her mess.  _ I should get ready to go meet up with Zen. Seven has his headphones on, so I probably shouldn’t even try to let him know I’m heading out. He’ll just yell at me again. _

“Seven, I’m going out.” She still tried after she’d changed from her pajamas into real clothes. “Hey, Seven.” She waved her hands, but she could hear the music blasting from his headphones. “Don’t get mad at me, I tried.” She rolled her eyes, leaving the apartment. After everything that had happened, she had expected Seven to be different. He was still Seven, though, she could tell that what she was being shown was the Seven that he tried to desperately mask in the chatroom.

“Hey, MC!” The actor had a busy schedule, but he’d asked to reschedule his meeting with the Director for her, which was really sweet. She smiled, waving at him as she sat down in the chair he’d pulled out for her. “Your eyes look puffy. Were you crying?” His concerned red gaze pierced her chest. Moping about wouldn’t do her any good, and it wouldn’t change Seven’s mind. Her lips twitched upwards, though she lacked the energy to even fake a smile. 

“It’s nothing, you don’t need to worry about me.” 

“I am worried about you! Seven didn’t try anything with you did he?” His enthusiasm was like a breath of fresh air, though his firm belief that Seven was trying to do inappropriate things with her was quite ironic. If anything, Seven was probably the safest person she could be around, both physically speaking from threats and from the male gender. 

“To be completely honest with you...you don’t have to worry about that.” His brow was cocked - he didn’t believe that at all. “Really, Zen, you don’t need to worry about it. Seven hasn’t even spoken to me other than to tell me to leave him alone. If anything, you could say I’m the one causing problems.” She laughed, though she didn’t find any part of her situation funny. How had she ended up like this? “Couldn’t I have fallen for someone like you, Zen?” 

His eyes grew wide, staring at her a moment. “MC? MC why are you crying?” His frame became blurry before her. She blinked, sending the tears rolling down her cheeks. “Oh no! Don’t cry. Hey hey hey..” Zen took off his jacket, getting up and wrapping it around her shoulders. He knelt on the ground next to her, brows furrowed. “Did Seven do something to you?” His expression was dark. If she said he had, she knew Zen would demand to know where the apartment was, and he’d likely try to beat up the secret agent. 

“No…” She shook her head. “No, he didn’t do anything to me. He doesn’t want anything to do with me, he said. Our conversations were all… pointless.” Her bottom lip trembled.  _ I told myself that I wouldn’t cry! Yet I’m being the world’s most pathetic girl right now!  _ “Am I stupid like he said? I like him so much, Zen.” 

“Hey, hey. Don’t cry. MC…” His face was perfect, and nothing like Seven’s, but the color of his eyes reminded her of Seven’s shirt. “Are you sure this is Seven we’re talking about here? That guy practically adores you! You’re all he can think about, he said so himself.” His words were unintentional twists of the knives Seven had been storing in your chest. “Ahh! Why are you crying more? MC..” He glanced around before picking her up, carrying her and surrounded by his bodyguards. It was like a scene out of a movie, but she wrapped her arms around Zen’s neck, sobbing into his shoulder and mumbling her apologies for ruining his nice shirt and godly image. “Don’t worry yourself about that, MC. Talk to me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May be a hot minute before I update. My original plan for this has kind of gone sideways, as I've said before. I'll be posting another work as a one-shot with Seven that I plan on titling "Helping Seven" WHICH is ironically what was Chapter 7 ALMOST turned into when I got carried away with writing without following my plan. Oops.
> 
> Saying this, I still plan on working on other things. I actually have a couple of other MM fanfics planned (some with Jumin, some Zen, etc. ) but they'll definitely be one-shots. This is the only story I intend to work on for now. Would those one-shots be of any interest to any of y'all?


	9. Seven Zero Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven gets a phone call... Zen is not happy...

“SEVEN!!” He intended to ignore the call from MC, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. It was easier in person, since he could gauge her reaction, which was typically annoyance. Over the phone, when she wasn’t sitting on the sofa giggling while calling him or trying to speak, was much harder. Was something wrong? Why was she calling? Did she get another weird message from Saeran? Hearing Zen’s angry shout on the other end of the phone confused him at first. Then, he panicked. 

_ Wasn’t she just here? _ He found the motivation to get off of the floor, checking each room, while barely hearing anything Zen was saying on the other end of the phone. “Is MC with you?” He finally interrupted the rambling actor. 

“Is she- did you not hear a word I just said?!” The anger in his tone calmed him, rather than worried him. That meant that MC was with Zen. But… When did she leave the apartment? Why didn’t she tell him she was going out? “MC just fell asleep crying her eyes out on my lap! You’re supposed to be protecting her, Seven! I spent the last hour trying to convince MC that you don’t hate her, and that it would be a terrible idea to just leave the RFA because it wouldn’t make you feel better!”

He stood in the middle of the apartment’s living room, frozen to the spot.  _ MC… crying? I made her cry? No. She was just fine this morning. But… with Zen? She went to Zen to comfort her? Why did she leave without talking to me! She’s in so much danger right now! _ His thoughts were jumping from one theory to another. It was difficult to process what he was saying. “She wants to leave the RFA?” Why did he feel so much pain because of those words? Hadn’t he told her he was going to leave after he traced the hacker anyways?  _ She thinks that I hate her… She thinks that I hate her… I know what I told her… but she thinks… she’s crying.. Because… _

“Seven? Seven! Are you even listening to me?” He sounded annoyed on the other end of the phone, annoyed and angry. “I  _ said _ I am not letting her go back to Rika’s apartment if you don’t tell me why the hell she thinks you hate her!”

What? “You can’t keep her with you. She has to come back.”  _ She would be happier with Zen, and not in danger…  _ A voice in the back of his head reminded him. He had Vanderwood and the agency on his tail right now. And with not trusting V anymore, and needing to find out why Saeran looked the way that he did… her being with him just wasn’t safe.  _ But can I just let her go to Zen? He’d take care of her… He won’t make her cry…  _

His eyes trailed over to the hallway, hands shaking. He could almost see her sitting on the floor, laptop resting on her thighs as she giggled, writing something and then showing it to the camera. To him. “... said you told her that they were pointless conversations…” Zen was still lecturing him, but he was stuck watching the MC in his head, as she ran down the hallway and slipped, only to sit up giggling at herself, and giving the camera, giving  _ him _ a thumbs up. “...at one point she was suicidal.  _ Suicidal, Seven. _ ” He blinked, snapping out of his daze. His attention returned to Zen. “I wouldn’t have believed it had she not told me herself. She was in a relationship once. Our innocent, kind MC. I guess the guy blamed her for everything and abused her. She couldn’t talk about it very well without crying, but it didn’t sound good. I just barely made out the situation. The guy was going to kill her because he blamed her for his life going wrong, but instead of shooting her, he shot himself in front of her.”

_ Blame… MC. Does she think I blame her? She thinks I hate her.. Suicidal… MC?  _ He couldn’t think straight. “Where is she? I’m going to get her.” Whatever it was that had happened to MC, he couldn’t let her think that he hated her. That he blamed her for any of this. Had she said something like that to him? Did she blame herself? Saeran had brought her there, but that wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her fault that she was a kind-hearted person who was always trying to help everyone. 

“I’m not letting her go back with you, Seven. Not right now. Even in her sleep she’s calling out for you, you idiot. And you know what she’s saying?” He could hear the phone being moved around. First, the whimpers.  _ Her  _ whimpers. She was mumbling his name like a chant. Like some kind of prayer. And then…

_ “Please don’t ignore me.” _

Tears filled his eyes.  _ Dammit!  _ He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He had warned her in the beginning that he couldn’t be responsible for hurting someone’s feelings, but he’d never imagined she would have fallen for him. Wouldn’t have imagined that he would have fallen for the stranger who had appeared in Rika’s apartment. “Zen, you have to send her back. Let me fix this…” 

“Actually, I can’t. Even if I wanted to, one of the bodyguards reported this to that trust fund kid. They were ordered to bring us to his penthouse. Guess he’s worried or curious. Whatever it is, I’ve tried having them take me to my place for the past twenty minutes.”

Seven slammed his phone against the table, not bothering to end the call. His fingers clenched his hair. Think. He needed to think. He could hack into the CCTV at Jumin’s house. Find out when she gets there and go get her. He liked the idea of her with Jumin even less than her crying on Zen’s shoulder. Slamming his fists down on the table, he hated the sting in his chest. This uneasy feeling wasn’t for him. This nervousness for the girl who pleaded in her sleep for him to stop ignoring her.  _ Why didn’t I just amuse her? Why did I keep telling her to leave me alone? How many times did she cry in this apartment while I sat there ignoring her? Will I ever be good enough for her? _

He picked the phone back up. “I’ll be right there.” He couldn’t just allow her to stay with Jumin. Even if it was selfish. Even if it was risky to leave the apartment without anyone there. Knowing that Vanderwood was looking for him to kill him… he had to go find her. How could he do anything when MC was hurting because of him? He clicked the end button. He would have to avoid any and all traffic cameras. He couldn’t use his car, but he had enough cash on him that it wasn’t a problem. He could get a cab.  _ How far did MC go to meet Zen that they’re on their way to Jumin’s? How long was she gone? _

The penthouse was the exact same as the last time he had been there, except the amount of bodyguards had doubled. He had hated the physical training the agency had made him go through, and had thought being able to do things like fight and hold his breath underwater for ten minutes was useless. Now he appreciated his training, because the guards had apparently been given orders to not allow him inside. Even so, he ended up drug out again and again by the body guards. 

His foot tapped impatiently on the spotless tile floor, waiting for Jumin to pick up his phone. It was the third time he had called, and it was starting to worry him that MC wasn’t with Jumin, but had instead gotten taken by Saeran. What did his brother intend on doing with her? What would happen to her if he got a hold of her? “Let her go.” He said as soon as the call connected. 

“You sound as though I’m keeping MC here against her own will. She’s still asleep, Luciel.” The calm voice on the other end of the line boiled his blood. “I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting her to be MC Song. No wonder you never sent me the background check I requested, nor accepted payment for it either. A shame I didn’t know. I would have signed the original agreement between our companies. What would you do then, I wonder?” The hum filled his ears, and Seven had to clench his teeth. This was what he’d been worried about. Jumin had very obviously begun developing feelings for MC.  _ Isn’t that a good thing, though? If she falls for him… she’d be spoiled and treated like a princess… he’d quite literally go to any length for her… _

Her sleeping voice ran in his ear. Her whimpering his name. Begging him not to ignore her anymore.  _ No. I can’t… I can’t let her go. _ He knew it was stupid and selfish. He knew that the logical thing would be to allow Jumin to comfort her in her pain and let her fall for him naturally, and forget all about him. 

_ “..she thinks you hate her!”  _ Zen’s voice broke his thoughts. “. _.. was suicidal at one point. Suicidal, Seven.” _ How could he be okay with his MC thinking that he hated her and that he would be better off without her? He swallowed his anger at Jumin, running a hand through his hair. What could he do to get Jumin to let him take her back with him?

“Just let me in, please. I need… I need to know she’s okay.”

He could hear her stirring on the other end of the phone. Hear the confusion in her voice, imagining what she must look like waking up after crying herself to sleep. Her voice was faint, but she could hear her ask where she was, her squeak of surprise at realizing Jumin was there. His jaw tightened, knowing Jumin left him on the line so he could hear her. Hear how exhausted she truly was. 

“MC, I was quite surprised to find out who you were. I have to admit, it was a pleasant surprise.” His voice was soft. He knew that Jumin had taken an interest in MC, but he didn’t think it would go anywhere. He didn’t think anyone could pull Jumin’s attention away from Elizabeth the 3rd. Yet here he was, MC inside his penthouse while Seven couldn’t do anything to get her back. “I think it would be best if you stayed here for a few days. Is that alright with you, MC?”

_ No! It’s not alright! _ He wished nothing more than to hear her say that she needed to go back to the apartment. That she needed to go back to him. “Oh… uh... “ The hesitance in her voice as she genuinely considered his invitation shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. “Okay, Jumin. I should let Seven know though… I didn’t tell him I was leaving the apartment. He didn’t listen.”

“I thought you said things were going well? Was that a lie, MC?”  _ Damn you, Jumin Han! If you do anything to hurt her… _ He froze, back against the wall outside of his penthouse. There were guards outside of the door. She was just on the other side of the door. And yet…  _ He’s not wrong. She pretended like everything was fine.  _

“Oh… He was really caught up in work, you know? Headphones on and stuff. So he didn’t listen.” It was such a poor excuse for a lie. He couldn’t listen anymore. He clicked the ‘end call’ button and slid down the wall. For a moment he simply sat there, ignoring the security guards who were watching him. They knew he wasn’t allowed in for reasons pertaining to Elizabeth the 3rd, but this was different. 

How could he take MC away from Zen or Jumin? He didn’t have that right. He had given up that right the moment he told her that he didn’t want a personal relationship with her. It would be selfish to deny her that close relationship with one of the other RFA members simply because he didn’t want to see her be with any other man. Didn’t want to watch her smile and be cute with them. Would she send Jumin cute pictures of her with Elly? Would she be dressed up in elegant dresses and helping Jumin take over the business world with her negotiation skills and kind heart? Wrapped in Jumin’s arms, completely and utterly possessed by the rich corporate heir… smiling at him with that shine in her eyes when she got excited. Showing him her outfits and twirling for him before he wrapped her up and kissed her lips?

Or would she run to Zen again, the guy who always flirted with her no matter what anyone else may think? Would MC support him in his acting career and promote his name? Use him as a model for her company, record him practicing secretly and post it online to share with the world how much work he actually put into his performances? Show up at each and every performance, only to end up backstage with a bouquet of flowers smiling at him?

  
“MC…” He had once told her he would support her and Jumin if they were to become a couple, but that had been before he’d realized his own feelings. Even then, he would have ignored them since he couldn’t be with her anyways. But knowing her feelings for him. Knowing the things she’d said… seeing her in person…  _ This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I thought I could just ignore her and it would be fine. And now… _ He sent a quick text to Jumin. For now, he needed to get back to finding Saeran. MC was still in danger if he was trying to bring her with him. And he still needed to find answers. For now, he would leave her with Jumin. She  _ was  _ safe with him and the bodyguards. He let out a sigh, heaving himself from the floor and walking towards the elevator.  _ I’m sorry, MC. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post some one-shots, but I finished this chapter instead and started the next so here is this.. 
> 
> Though I'm still planning on my one-shots. So keep an eye out for those.


	10. Night at Jumin's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC stays the night at Jumin's house and... well...

MC was pleasantly surprised by how… thoughtful the ‘trust fund kid’ was. He had sent one of his security guards to go buy her a pair of pajamas, even after she had insisted she could sleep in what she was currently wearing. Spending his money on her seemed like a waste, in her opinion. He could be using it for more important things, really, than buying her a change of clothes. 

“Are you hungry? I can call my chef if you desire anything.” He asked, pouring himself a glass of wine. It was so elegant. Everything he did was very precise. From the way he moved his fingers to his posture, it was obvious he’d had a lot of training in proper manners. 

She stood up from the couch, wandering over to the table Jumin sat at by the window. “Could I get a glass of whatever kind of wine that is?” Getting drunk was not the plan, but she needed something to help her relax her nerves right now. Her emotions were all over the place, and she had a feeling it would be difficult to go to sleep without something to help ease her mind. 

Jumin’s perfectly groomed brow rose in surprise, and she was reminded that he had a stylist and a hairdresser that made him up. It was only natural, she figured, that he looked so regal all of the time, even in the few pictures she had seen of him. “You want to drink with me?” The question sounded genuine, and not like a tease. 

_ Oh, he must want to be alone too.  _ She rubbed her forearm, glancing towards the floor. “I, uh. If that’s a problem then I will just go sit down. I don’t want to bother you. I know I’m kind of barging in right now and I don’t want to annoy you…” It was almost hard to look back up at the dark haired man. He looked surprised, though the emotion was gone in the blink of an eye to be replaced with a softness she’d not seen in a long time.

“Not at all. I would be happy to share a drink with you, MC. Allow me.” He set down his wine glass and pulled out the other chair to her, offering her a seat. She slowly approached the chair and sat, mumbling a soft ‘thank you’ to him. He was so polite, and the look on his face was much kinder than the last time she’d seen him, when she was trying to convince him to partner with her family’s company.   
  
The view was absolutely breathtaking. The glass truly was so clean that she could believe she was outside rather than safely inside the penthouse of Jumin Han. The stars were out, shining brightly above them, peppering the inky black sky with their light. That’s how she felt about meeting the RFA. She couldn’t say her life was the worst, but they definitely were the kind of stars that shone a little brighter against the night sky than the rest. 

“Have you heard from Seven? My phone died… He must be worried…” She didn’t know if that was the truth or not, but as frustrating as he’d gotten, she didn’t want to worry him or freak him out. “Or, maybe not.” Her gaze was stuck on the glass as Jumin poured her a glass of wine. The red liquid spilling into the glass. “He was pretty upset with me. I was surprised that he was so cold. I thought at first maybe it was just because of the hacker and his work and being stressed. But I kept messing up.” She glanced upwards, through her lashes, at Jumin. “It’s better for me to be here, right? He told me to leave him alone…” Would it be better to return to the apartment?  _ But I’m sick of being there. It’s “Rika this” and “Rika that” no matter where I go. And it’s Rika’s apartment. I don’t like the feeling in that place… _

“I do not think I can answer that for you, MC. However, I can say that I am quite happy that you are here. I’d love for you to stay as long as you please. I do have to go to work in the morning, but please make yourself at home here. If you find yourself in need for anything, I will take care of it for you.” Jumin sipped on his wine. He looked much more relaxed than in the picture Jaehee had sent her before. He didn’t look lonely, either. 

“That’s a really generous offer, Jumin, but I can’t accept it. You’ve already done so much just by allowing me to be here. If the media saw me come here it would cause a riot. My mother told me that when you refused to sign the agreement she proposed for marriage with me that Glam Choi suggested a student of hers. Isn’t that causing you enough trouble?” She had been a little caught up in her own world with Seven that she’d barely given Jumin the attention and support he needed at the moment. She felt a little bad about it, but Glam Choi was a friend of her mother’s. It’s not like she could do anything. 

“There is no need for you to worry about that woman. My father is allowing his emotions to cloud his judgement. Though I appreciate your worry over me.” He set down his glass so gently it didn’t make a sound. His steel colored irises lingered on her face, watching her. She shifted under his intense stare. “Is Luciel the reason that you’re frowning?” The question was unexpected. 

“Huh?” She blinked. Where had that question come from. Weren’t they talking about his familial situation with his father? Though she supposed she had been the one trying to change the subject. She couldn’t keep his eye contact, and opted for admiring the view once again. “I guess you could say that. I’m worried about him… he’s going through a lot too.” She sighed, rubbing her face with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what I can do to help him, you know? And he told me to leave him alone, so this has to be the best option right now, right? I’m doing the right thing?”

He must have noticed how stressed out she was about the whole situation, because he reached out to grab her hand. It was a simple enough gesture, and she found herself squeezing his hand, staring into his eyes in a silent plea for an answer. “I cannot make that decision for you, MC. Though if you would like for me to send you back to Rika’s apartment, I will arrange for it in the morning.” He briefly looked away, but his eyes found hers again. “Though my offer remains. Stay here for as long as you’d like.” 

The silence lingered in the air, though it wasn’t uncomfortable. It wasn’t tense like it had been in the apartment with Seven. There wasn’t a strong desire to break the silence. Silence in the presence of Jumin was… comforting. She felt as though she could finally breathe without worrying if she was annoying the other person or upsetting them somehow. It was a pleasant feeling, one she could use right about now considering all of the crazy things that had happened in the last couple of days. A week had already passed by so quickly, but it felt like such a long period of time considering how much had happened. 

Instead of only a handful of days, it felt like she’d known them for several years. Each member of the RFA had their own unique personalities, each with their own struggles and dreams. She appreciated and cared for all of them. While she realized recently she didn’t speak with Yoosung much, she chalked it up to his excessive gaming habits. She didn’t usually get to talk to him on a real level because all he did was either complain about V or talk about LOLOL. How could she have a conversation when he had no topic?

“If you would, humor me.” Jumin’s voice brought her out of her thoughts, blinking up from staring at her wine glass. It was already almost gone.  _ Huh. Did I drink that much already? _ “What is it about Luciel that appeals to you? If I were to lock you up here and never let you leave, would you grow to hate me, MC?”

She watched him a moment, simply blinking as she processed what he just asked.  _ He is joking, right? _ He didn’t look like he was joking, but Jumin’s sense of humor had always been different. So she smiled a little. “You wouldn’t do something like that, though I definitely wouldn’t appreciate it. I felt locked up in that apartment enough as it was and I thought I was going to go mad from boredom and loneliness. I’m envious of your ability to not be lonely or let it overcome you.” She hummed, taking another sip of her wine. It was definitely expensive.

“I see…” His expression turned thoughtful, gently swirling the wine around in his glass. “You know, I would never tell you to leave me alone, MC. As I have made it clear before, you can call upon me whenever, for whatever reason you may have. Even if there is no purpose to your call, I do not mind. I enjoy hearing your voice. It’s soothing to my ears.” He’d said it before, but in person seemed much more personal and intimate than before. The entire situation was… quite intimate.

_ What am I supposed to say to that?  _ He’d been so kind to her this entire time, and this offer, from Jumin Han, was already above and beyond what she’d expected of him, which hadn’t been much more than what she’d heard about him through Jaehee and the others. “Thank you for saying that, Jumin. It means a lot to me to know that you have my back. Uh… but I do want to make it clear… you don’t have to cooperate with my mother and father’s company because of me. If you ever think it’s no longer useful for your own goals, don’t think it’ll hurt my feelings. I know you never mean anything personal by such things.” She’d learned that quickly. He was simply a blunt guy. 

“I would not offend your hard work by lying to you. You gave me very good reasons for this cooperation between companies. As we are primarily an export company, it was only the natural step. Though it’s a shame I didn’t know it was you. I would have agreed to the original terms otherwise.” She spit out the wine she’d been sipping, eyes wide as she stared at him. 

She realized what she’d done, horrified by her own reaction. MC stood and began searching for something to clean up the mess. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry. I was just so surprised a-and I didn’t mean to do that, really. That’s a funny joke, aha.” There didn’t appear to be anything except for a couple of the pure white cloth napkins, which she didn’t wish to stain with red wine. “Let me find something to clean this up, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” His expression didn’t say anything different than his words. “I will have my maid clean it.” He stood, eyes scanning over her. “You got it all over yourself.” The lightly chiding tone made her feel almost like a child. “They are still out shopping for your pajamas. I will show you to the shower. It can’t be helped, you will have to wear one of my shirts.” He sighed, though placed his hand gently against her lower back to guide her through his penthouse towards the bathroom. The bathroom alone was nearly as large as the apartment she’d been staying in. 

“O-oh, but is it really okay if I do?” She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea or not. Wearing a guy’s shirt… wasn’t that something for couples?  _ I don’t know if Seven would like that. _ She didn’t like the feeling of her clothes being wet and sticky, either, though.  _ Who cares if Seven doesn’t like it? Besides, _ another voice popped up in her head.  _ He was the one who told me to leave him alone. And I told him I wouldn’t continue to pursue him if… if that was what he wanted. And he… he still told me to leave him alone. _

_ “MC.” _ Jumin’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She turned her head to face him. “You’re crying again.” He looked uncomfortable. “Is there nothing I can do to ease your pain?” He questioned, hand reaching up to cup her cheek. It was warm and soft, like he moisturized and never did any manual labor in his life. “Would you prefer it if Seven were here?”

“It doesn’t matter. He doesn’t want me around. I asked. Over and over. I won’t continue to push him. I won’t drive him off a ledge. If he doesn’t feel the same way then I’ll just have to suck it up buttercup and hope he still wants to be friends with someone like me.” Though…  _ he said he was leaving.  _ “Excuse me, Jumin. I’m going to have to bother you to use your shower.” She bowed to him and gently pushed him out of the door. 

She couldn’t even enjoy the three different showerheads or the luxurious lights in the bathroom. The hot water was scalding against her skin, leaving her red and steaming up the entire bathroom, though none of it registered in her brain.  _ Pointless. None of those conversations meant anything to him, MC, get that through your head and you’ll stop feeling so upset by it! Such a baby… _

The knock on the door startled her. “MC? You’ve been in there for over an hour… are you okay?”

“U-uh yeah! I’ll be right out! Sorry about that!” She shut off the water, grabbing the nearest towel she saw and wrapped it around herself. “Uhm, Jumin?” She called out hesitantly. 

“Yes, what is it?” His voice was kind and gentle. He really was softer than she’d originally pegged him to be. 

“I forgot to take anything with me… C-can I trouble you to bring me one of your shirts?” She had a rather awkward interaction with Jumin, trying to take the button up from him without opening the door too far open. “Thank you.” She called out, waving through the crack in the door with one hand. 

The shirt was, as she assumed, quite big on her in some areas, but also small in others. It fell about mid-thigh, though would easily ride up terribly if she moved her arms around too much, and it was only slightly big around the chest area.  _ It’ll have to do for now. My normal clothes are all dirty. _ She sighed, towel-drying her hair. It took another ten minutes before she decided to hang the towel back up and leave the bathroom, wandering around a moment to admire the design of Jumin’s home. He definitely lived a luxurious lifestyle, and yet… the whole house was quite simple. Other than the professionally taken photographs of Elizabeth the 3rd hanging on the walls, there was little to really tell her anything about Jumin Han.

“As I thought, those will not do. They should be here with clothes that properly fit you soon.” Jumin’s breath tickled her ear. She tensed. How did she not know he had snuck up on her? Had she been that involved in the photographs of Elizabeth the 3rd? His expression was thoughtful, eyes scanning the striped shirt she adorned. She had been fine a minute ago, almost comfortable in the shirt, though she suddenly felt the desire to wrap herself in a thick blanket and hide from his gaze. 

“D-does it look that bad?”  _ I thought I actually looked kind of cute, though it’s not Seven’s jacket. I’d love to wear it one day. Surprise him. I’m pretty sure the sleeves will be too long, so I can flap them around. He would find that funny, right? Then again, he doesn’t really want to talk with me right now, and probably wants nothing to do with me. Would it be wrong to call him? I… want to hear his voice. Jumin’s being polite enough… but even in silence… I enjoyed Seven’s presence.  _

She didn’t realize she’d sighed aloud until Jumin’s hand gently reached across her body to grab her upper arm and turn her to face him. “You do not look bad, MC. In fact, I quite enjoy the sight of you in my shirt. Though it’s not the time for those thoughts.” Blinking, she looked into Jumin’s eyes. Was he saying… that he was attracted to her in his shirt?  _ I… wow…  _ She’d not expected that at all. Seven made jokes about him marrying Elly, but she’d kind of taken it as a serious hint to his distaste towards women. 

“I… uhm.. Thank you for letting me borrow it. I’m kind of afraid to wear it though. I’m sure it’s expensive, right?” She glanced down at the button-up she wore. It would be better if she just pretended like he hadn’t just implied that he was turned on by her wearing his shirt. “I don’t really know why I ended up here, but -” The ringing of her phone distracted her thoughts. “Oh, sorry. I should get that.” 

“Hey Zen.” His voice came out as a rush on the other end, apologizing for leaving her with the trust fund kid, and asking if she was doing okay. She couldn’t help but giggle at his panic. “I’m really okay. Jumin is being very kind to me. I was able to shower and get cleaned up. Have… have you heard from Seven? I haven’t tried getting a hold of him, because I don’t want to annoy him more… but I’m worried.”

The noise on the other end was only to be described as a surprised annoyance. “Why are you worried about Seven? He made you cry. No man should ever make a lady cry! Though I really am surprised. It’s still really hard to believe that it was Seven who would ignore you. You two get along so well. It’s like you have your own little world that the rest of us can’t reach...Oh. I shouldn’t bring it up when you guys are having problems… but don’t worry! I’m sure he will come to his senses!”

Even if Seven decided to go through with his plan, she wouldn’t try to stop him. How could she tell him that he couldn’t go after his brother? Could she be selfish and ask him to forget about his brother that he’d thought was in a good place but found out everything was a lie?  _ No. I don’t think I could do that to him.  _ If she could help him at all, she would. “Thanks but it’s okay. I just want to make sure he is okay. I’ll be going back tomorrow morning as soon as possible.”

“Gah~ You’re either with that robot freak or the weird hacker and a bomb! They’re both men. You need to be careful. I’ve said it before, but all men are wolves!” She glanced at Jumin, thinking of his comment. It would probably be best to keep the fact that she was wearing Jumin’s shirt right now as classified information. “I have to go, but remember to call me if anything happens! Call me no matter the time. I’ll go save you. Goodnight!”

He hung up the phone, not allowing her to answer as he typically did. Shaking her head, a fit of giggles erupted. Why was it that Zen was so concerned with her relationship with the male population?  _ Though he sounds even more worried after I… oh.. Right… I told Zen about  _ him  _ before I ended up falling asleep and ended up here. I should explain to him that I’m okay. It doesn’t haunt me anymore as much.  _

Behind her, she heard Jumin’s footsteps and half-turned to face him. “It was just Zen worrying about me. He’s really sweet to be so concerned.” She couldn’t help the smile.  _ I haven’t known them very long, but they’re all so worried about me. They’re all such kind people.  _ Jumin’s lips twitched downward, had she said something upsetting? It was probably because of Zen, since the two didn’t exactly get along. 

“MC… you don’t have to return tomorrow. I must admit the thought of you returning where there is an explosive is worrisome. I trust Luciel in his abilities, but your safety should be more important than keeping the apartment location classified. I do not know what that kid is thinking.” He glanced to the side a moment before returning his gaze to her. He reached out, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her heart raced in her chest, pounding so loudly she was certain he could hear it, drumming in her ears. “You should stay here. You’ll be safe for sure, and there is no bomb.”

His concern was… cute. She didn’t understand why everyone was so worried about her in this situation, when Seven was the one who was still at the apartment with the bomb. And he just found out that V had lied to him, and his brother was… well… the guy who’d led her to the apartment. The reminder struck her suddenly. “Jumin. I must return to the apartment tonight.”  _ This isn’t the time to get caught up with Jumin and enjoying a bit of luxury. Seven needs me right now. _

“You should get some rest. I will take you back in the morning. You should not rush to his side right now. He should not get the luxury of looking at your face right now. I never understood the feeling of jealousy, though I think this may be what I am feeling at this moment. You’re so worried about Luciel… I am not a fan of this feeling in my chest.” His confession surprised her.

She was walking towards the counter where she’d set her phone, grabbing it and checking the chatroom. Pausing on her way to the door to open it; Seven was there. Almost a little too eagerly she entered the chatroom, hoping that he was alright. He had been talking about his progress on finding the hacker, though he was very vague about everything. He sounded… off.. 

**MC: Seven… are you doing okay?**

**Seven: MC! You’re here!**

**MC: Yeah…**

**Seven: I didn’t expect to see you here tonight**

**Seven: You’re with Jumin, right?**

**MC: I am. I didn’t expect to be here, but I ended up here**

**MC: I just wanted to give you some space.**

**Seven: MC…**

**MC: It’s not a big deal. Jumin’s being kind to me.**

**Seven: Are you enjoying yourself?** **  
** **MC: I accidentally spilt wine over myself and had to use the shower.**

**MC: It’s quite nice ^^**

**Seven: .... Shower…**

Was he bothered by the idea that she’d used Jumin’s shower, or was he thinking it was a good idea to get cleaned up? Had he eaten at all? Was he still sitting on the floor in that uncomfortable position even though he could sit wherever he wanted to become more comfortable? 

**Seven: I’m not surprised you two get along so well**

**Seven: Say hi to Elly for me ~**

**Seven: Oh! Don’t worry about coming back.**

**Seven: It’s**

**Seven: Safer**

**Seven: With Jumin ^^ ~**

**MC: I’m going back in the morning.**

**Seven: There’s no need to put yourself back in danger by being here;;**

**MC: All of my things are there.**

**Seven: Jumin will buy you more**

**Seven: So don’t sweat it^^** ****  
  


There it was. More of that false joy and teasing. Why was he being like this? She knew he told her to leave him alone but she thought he was just trying to push her away because he was afraid. Did he truly not want to be around her? Was he trying to politely tell her that she was not wanted?  _ Seven… Do you truly hate me? Have I become a burden to you? _

She exited the chatroom to call him. He didn’t answer. Ignoring her? She called him again and again, but he did not answer the phone.  _ I guess that’s my answer. _ The squeeze in her chest was quickly becoming a familiar feeling. While not comfortable, she couldn’t find the energy to cry anymore, despite wanting to. “I… suppose I’ll stay here for tonight. Seven… he… doesn’t want to see me, I think.”

“You can sleep in my bed. Come with me.” Jumin held out a hand that she hesitantly accepted. He gave her a smile that eased a bit of the tightness in her chest. If only he were Seven, it would have been perfect. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I thought I would be waiting to post, but I didn't. Sorry my mind can't seem to ever be made up.


	11. Breakfast in the Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which MC and Jumin are interrupted from their meal from an unexpected visitor, and MC shows she's not as meek as she acts.

Seeing such a bright person dulled because of another person was a shame. The light in her eyes he’d witnessed the day she waltzed into his office to propose a cooperation between their companies was much more dim now. The worst part about it was that he knew exactly the reason behind it, and could not do much to ease the knots between her brows. If she’d allow him to pull her into his arms and lavish her with the attention and affection she deserved, he’d happily oblige. 

_ Unfortunately her heart is set on Luciel. _ He sighed, sitting in a chair near the bed. She was finally asleep, after allowing him to read her a story he’d once told himself he’d finish and tell Rika. This girl, so unlike the blonde woman in almost every way fathomable, had wormed her way into his heart. He knew this, knew she was the special person he needed in his life. The desire to lock her up forever grew in his heart, but he knew that he could not act on such feelings. 

Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, making her seem even more fragile than when she was lying on his sofa with tear-stained cheeks. Carrying her up into his apartment had been much too easy. He kept himself in shape, but she was much too light. Being in that apartment must mean she didn’t eat enough. He knew she often skipped meals, but he’d not imagined it was to this degree. He’d have to remedy that somehow, if given the chance.  _ Perhaps I should make her some pancakes in the morning. I wonder what kind she would like? _

Jumin tucked a strand of hair out of her face before he left her side to call the hacker who’d given him this opportunity to meet the girl who’d suddenly appeared in their lives a little over a week ago. It took a couple of rings before the call connected. 

“.... Hello…” The hesitant, slow response was unlike Seven. He, too, had been dulled by the situation. He’d be worried about the hacker more if he wasn’t upset with him for causing MC so much pain. She’d been so convincing in the chatroom that everything was fine, that he’d never have known his close friend was causing her to doubt her self-worth. 

“She’s asleep now. I thought about it while watching her rest, and decided to let you know she is doing okay. It is more than you deserve right now, but I need something from you and letting you know how she is doing is my trade.” He could hear the relieved sigh on the other end of the line. “I would like to know what MC’s favorite pancake would be. What kind of fruit would be good to put in them?”

“You want to know something like that?” He sounded surprised, and Jumin could understand why. It was not every day that he wanted to know information about someone that would not be considered useful for his business or essential for Elizabeth the 3rd. 

“She’s had a rough night. She’s clearly not been eating well. If I must send her back to you, I’d at least like to ensure she’s been well-fed. You’re the only thing on that woman’s mind, which is infuriating. She is troubling herself by worrying about you, and hurting herself by not being greedy enough to call you in order to respect your wishes to be left alone.” Zen was nothing but emotional when it came to such matters, and on every other occasion he would never agree with the cat-hating actor. However, this was a matter he could agree with him on; MC being ignored was rude of Seven and she deserved better. “I will not lecture you about what decisions you should be making, though I will warn you: If you do not intend to give MC the love she deserves, then I will relieve you of her feelings and take them for myself.”

“She would be better off with you…” He didn’t even try to argue with him. Did not declare war against him as he’d seen in soap operas. There was no love rival declaration or jealous outburst. Simply… he… gave in? “It would be dangerous for her to be close to me. That would… be for the best.”

Annoyance sparked within him. “Are you claiming to know what is best for MC? You would disregard her feelings and allow another to take her away after such a show mere hours ago? I must say I’m disappointed. Perhaps you’re right, then. MC does not need to be burdened anymore.”

“If you are going to stay on the line just to lecture me, don’t. I’ve had my ear talked off for the last hour from Zen. I know what I’m doing. This is the best I can do for her right now. I know she wants to come back here, but it’s not safe. If I could ask one thing of you… keep her with you for now. She will be safe there.” Seven’s voice sounded raw and bare. It lacked his usual spontaneity and oddity that he’d come to associate with the red-haired secret agent. 

This kind of solemness… he was not changing his mind at this time. “I would do that regardless of if you asked. I must admit I quite enjoy watching her lounge around in my shirt. At first I thought it was much too big for her to be wearing, though the longer I see her walking around in it... “ He pinched the bridge of his nose. Now was not the time to begin to fantasize about the woman resting in his bed, placing her trust in him not to be the wolf that Zen claimed him to be. “At least call her. She’s quite troubled by you ignoring her calls.”

“I’ll think about it. I have to go. Bye.”

The end tone rang in his ear only a moment before he slipped the phone back into his shirt pocket. He’d never gotten an answer about her favorite fruit for the pancakes. It was unfortunate, but he would have to go with a traditional strawberry pancake breakfast for her. If she enjoyed it, then that would be good enough for him.  _ Keep her here… I’d like to. She’d probably fight against it, but she couldn’t leave even if she wanted to if I said the word. She would never be able to leave me… _ He was getting carried away again with his thoughts. 

Returning to her side, he noticed she kicked off some of the blankets, revealing too much of herself for it to be appropriate. “You should have yourself guarded more, MC. You’re so… vulnerable like this.” He murmured under his breath, pulling the blanket back up to cover her. His hands lingered by her face. Leaning down, he couldn’t help but place a feather-light kiss to her forehead. “I will do whatever I must to protect you, MC. Even if it has to be from Luciel.”

The next morning he was making pancakes when MC finally awoke. He’d been awake for hours, but she must have been exhausted to have slept for as long as she had. Even if she’d been awake late in the night, it was quite a long time before she’d actually risen from her slumber. He almost dropped the spatula in his hand when MC walked into the kitchen, rubbing her tired eyes and stretching out her arms sleepily, his striped button-up sliding up her thighs and…

He forced himself to look back down at the pancakes he was making. “Good morning, MC. I’ve made us breakfast. Have a seat.” He knew what he had told Seven the night before, but he could not force MC into anything in good conscience. She deserved more respect than to have his affection forced upon her at a time like this. 

“Huh?” She blinked and rubbed her eyes again. She belonged in a picture frame, forever capturing the sheer radiance she emitted simply by standing in his home. Not once had he ever understood his father’s obsession over women. Ever. Though watching MC pad softly through his kitchen to take a seat at the island, elbows resting on the counter with her head in her palms, blinking up at him with the clutches of sleep slowly releasing her, he had a moment of clarity. He would do absolutely  _ anything  _ for this woman. “You made us breakfast?” Her gaze traveled to the plates he had in his hands. The corners of her lips twitched upward, eyes meeting his. “You didn’t have to, but I feel honored that Jumin Han is cooking for me when he has a chef to do that for him.”

“Would you prefer my chef? I can call him if you-” He was already beginning to set down the plates. 

“No, no.” She waved her hands, the cuffs of his striped shirt just a little too long, covering most of her palms and some of her fingers. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He was mesmerized by the pink tinge of her cheeks, and the way her hands moved to cover the lower half of her face out of embarrassment. How was he expected to give her back to Luciel when she was being so lovely this morning? He felt his own lips twitch upwards into a smile, setting the plate before her. “I guess I just didn’t expect that you could cook since you never had to. Color me impressed, Jumin Han.” The wink she gave him was almost too much for him to bear. 

The unpleasant desire to tie her up and keep her for himself grew with every passing moment. He wanted to keep those smiles just for him. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about something she enjoyed, even though she had seemed more down than excited in her time in his home. She definitely seemed to feel much better than she had the day before. Had Seven taken his advice and called her? He couldn’t tell if she’d spoken with Luciel, or if she simply woke up in a good mood. 

“There are a lot of things I can do. I simply do not have the time for them, usually.” He replied, taking his own seat next to her at the island to eat. They couldn’t have looked more opposite in that moment, he was certain. While he’d been up for hours, already dressed for work - of which he was already late for - she looked disheveled in the most beautiful way. Her hair wasn’t combed, some strands sticking this way and that, she continued to wear his shirt as though it was a part of her property, and he couldn’t say he minded as much as he had the first time he’d mentioned her wearing it. She’d been asleep by the time his men had returned with her fitted pajamas, and he’d no desire to wake her. He even said as much when Jaehee called him an hour ago to convince him to hurry to work. 

He had nearly forgotten that he was dealing with a potential forced marriage due to his father’s newest girlfriend. It was so easy to forget about the distasteful obstacles he was facing at work when such an angel was in his presence at his home. “I do regret not signing that original contract. You would have been mine.” He sighed the words, watching her eat a moment. 

She paused and turned her head to look at him, yellow-gold eyes wide with confusion. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.” Her head tilted, igniting an urge to reach out and stroke her face which he barely repressed. “What did you say?”

_ You are much too thoughtful, MC. I promise you, that if Seven does not cherish you properly, I will take you back. _ He reached out to gently ruffle her hair. “It’s nothing you should worry yourself over.” Her nose scrunched at his action, a melodic giggle leaving her lips. He could listen to her laugh all day and never tire. If he could take her to work with him, surely he’d always be at peace.   
  
“Alright… well these are very good pancakes. Strawberries are delicious!” She hummed before digging into her breakfast once again. He was so enthralled with her reactions and facial expressions he nearly forgot to eat his own cooling food. His mind wandered as he ate, thinking about what Seven had asked of him - to keep MC there.  _ Does he realize that if she stays here, I will not allow her to leave?  _ There was a knock on the door that disturbed his thoughts. A sigh left his lips, excusing himself. His bodyguard apologized about the intrusion. 

“There is a woman here to see you, sir.” A woman? He glanced back to MC. She was the only woman who should even be near his home. “She said she was sent by your father, sir.” 

“So you let just any woman who claims to be sent by my father to my penthouse?” Jumin asked, letting out a sigh. “Send her away. I do not have time for-”

“Jumin!” A woman with hot pink hair waltzed right through the security guards and into his home. MC was still at the table, focused on her food. She was humming a small tune and swaying to the beat that must have been playing in her head.  _ Can she get any more lovely? _ He sighed, looking back to the woman who called his name. “I went to visit you at work but your assistant told me you weren’t coming in and I was worried about you! Are you sick or…” She spotted MC, who had paused in her eating, looking over at the two with wide eyes. “Who is  _ she? _ Are you cheating on me?”

MC hopped up from the chair she sat on, walking over to them. She didn’t look unnerved at all to be in nothing but his shirt while facing this girl. “It’s quite rude for someone to barge into a man’s house, don’t you think?” 

“I’m his fiancee. Who are you? Do you think you can seduce my future husband?” Heavily lined eyes narrowed into slits at MC, though this didn’t intimidate her in the slightest. Jumin was almost surprised there wasn’t the typical catfight he’d seen on the television. MC wasn’t throwing a hissy fit at all. Did she not care that this woman was claiming to be his fiancee?  _ I suppose she doesn’t have much reason to care. _

A smile he’d not seen before turned up the corners of MC’s lips. She took another step forward, linking her arm through his. He blinked down at her in surprise, but she was staring at Sarah. “Oh sweetie, in order to be his fiancee, you have to have a ring. Not to mention a personality other than a gold digging liar. You look kind of surprised right now, Sarah. When Jumin said his father was trying to get him to marry one of Glam’s students, I didn’t realize you two would lie and say that you were her student rather than her sister.” She.... what? “How awkward would it be for the media to find out celebrity Glam Choi was trying to get her sister to marry her future son in law? He will be your nephew, then, right?” Jumin couldn’t find the words to speak. Was she telling the truth? “So if you don’t call off Glam and this ridiculous idea that you’re going to marry Jumin, I will have to come after you again… like last time. ‘Kay?” Her sweet tone and smile held an underlying threat. 

The woman took a couple of steps back, eyes wide. “MC?” She glared, letting out a huff. It appeared as if this annoyance actually knew MC. He was more intrigued than he had been before. “You are always ruining everything! It’s because of you that Sugar Round is failing! You’re the reason I’m like this!” She pointed hand trembling as her neatly manicured finger lined up with her face. 

“Am I?” If he had thought she was amazing before, he was truly impressed in this moment. “I didn’t do anything but tell my brother that you were cheating on him with that Italian model. It’s not my fault he decided to break off your engagement. We were almost sisters. What a shame, right?” For how sweet she was, he realized how intimidating she could be when she reached up to grab Sarah’s finger, and began to bend it backwards. “I will only say it once. Leave Jumin Han alone. Relay the message to Glam for me. I don’t think you can afford another plastic surgery, do you?”

“I-you-Gah!” Sarah was shaking with rage, storming out of the house past the security guards, screaming curses at MC. He and his security guard were both gaping at the brunette before them, who was smiling after the woman wiggling her fingers in the direction she’d disappeared to. 

“So you knew her, then.” It wasn’t a question, since he already knew the answer. She’d just said so herself they’d almost been related at one point in time. “I didn’t know you had a brother.” More information Luciel had failed to tell anyone else of. How many secrets did the hacker have? Was anything about him real? It hardly seemed so, since he never took anything seriously.  _ I shouldn’t say that. He takes MC’s safety pretty seriously. _

MC turned to face him, head tilted to the side. Her hands rested precariously on her hips, one side jutting out more than the other in a rather alluring pose. “Sarah? Yeah. We used to be kind of close, actually. She was going to marry my older brother, Haneul, but then I found out she cheated on him. Even after she claimed it was just a mistake, I noticed a lot of things about her didn’t ever line up. I had ignored it for a while because of my brother, but I had to tell him. He’s pretty well off himself, so she would have had a very comfortable life with him.” As if she owned the place, she walked away from him to return to her pancakes, which were half-eaten on the counter. 

“He’s going to take over the family company, I think. I hope so at least. It’s not really something I’m interested in, even though I enjoy the work. Anyways, she’s definitely Glam’s sister, so that should be more than enough reason for your dad to stop pushing it so much. And I know them personally, so it may be easier for him to accept it rather than deny the truth.” With how much she’d been affected by Seven ignoring her, being called names by that Sarah woman hadn’t bothered her in the slightest. 

He took a couple of steps after her, pausing halfway to the kitchen. “You’re quite the woman, MC.” The surprised look on her face was one he’d seen multiple times since her arrival. The words that he spoke often seemed to come as a surprise to her, though he wasn’t sure why. Had she not heard such compliments before, or was it simply because he was the one saying them? If it were the former, he’d be quite surprised himself.

“Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to remind everyone that the way I write the characters are simply how I personally perceive them. The things they say or feel are how I interpret them from the game, versus how others may interpret them. I'm not an expert and I didn't create the characters so I don't know much about them. 
> 
> MC is also not a reader-insert but rather her own person. She may not have your same beliefs or values. She is not you, in this sense. She is not me. She is just a character that I'm trying to develop by taking some aspects of her through the game and applying them into this work of fan fiction as well as giving her some things like hobbies, likes, dislikes, personality aside from the "let me help you! We can do this! I'm scared!" that you see in the game. 
> 
> If you do not like this, you can leave. I won't mind. I'm writing this for myself (so I can get better at writing stories rather than JUST one-shots) as well as those who DO enjoy it. Thanks for coming to my TedTalk.


	12. Explosion of Bottled Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC discovers something new... something... important...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I am being completely honest, this is SO much more dramatic than I ever intended for it to be.

“You did  _ what? _ ” Seok choked on his coffee, eyes bugging out of his face. Eun and MC giggled at him, both finding him rather amusing despite the information she’d just shared with them. “I didn’t know you knew Director Han!” His voice raised, catching the attention of a couple of wandering ears. MC waved at him and shushed him with her fingers, glancing around. If the whole world knew that she knew Jumin, especially with the drama unfolding in his life at the moment, it would be really bad for him. Seok shrunk a bit, though he did lower his voice. “I knew you were bold, but I never thought you’d actually stay the night at some stranger’s house.”   
  
MC rolled her eyes at him once more. “For the last time, he’s not a stranger. And I know it wasn’t the best decision but I didn’t really have a choice, okay?” She’d decided to keep the “I was living with a bomb and the guy who came to rescue me was being a total ass so I decided to visit my model friend Zen and ended up crying and then we got sort of kidnapped by Jumin Han the Director you work for’ part a secret. She’d given pretty vague details to what happened, though she knew by the look in Eun’s eyes that the questions were not going to stop.

“Yeah but you didn’t explain why you didn’t have a choice, or even how you know Jumin Han. He’s like, mega rich, and if he didn’t just drop you off at our usual place I wouldn’t have even believed what you just said!” Eun’s eyes glistened with questions, with a desire to know answers. MC let out a sigh. She’d never get away with not telling them anything. “I mean, I know his family caused the downfall of yours, but you guys never actually met, right? Unless…” MC could see the pieces clicking into place in her head. “He’s one of the members of the RFA you told me about last time, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he is.” There was no use in denying it. Even after she’d insisted she could make it to visit her friends without him, Jumin had been like a mountain in his firm decision to not let her go alone. His insistence to drop her off personally was quite embarrassing. As was the attention on her and the obvious photographs taken by people. Jumin hadn’t seemed to mind it much, but she felt quite awkward with the whole scene. “So is Zen, the musical actor you mentioned. He is supposed to be stopping by today if he has a chance. There is also a college student our age named Yoosung. He’s not famous or anything, but he’s a sweet guy. A bit of a gamer addict like you, Eun.” She teased, nudging her friend. 

“Wait, C&R caused the downfall of your family's company?” Seok butted into the conversation, looking at her with confusion written across his face. She’d not told him the full story of what had happened. She and Eun were friends before she and Seok were, and she’d been introduced to Seok by Eun since the two had gone to college together and had often gotten partnered up for projects. They had become quick friends. But MC had known Eun since she’d moved to Korea. “Why didn’t you tell me that? I wouldn’t have ever gone to intern there!” He whined.    
  
MC waved a hand, brushing it off. “It’s not a big deal. That issue was resolved. Besides, it’s a good company and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on it just because of me.” She promised him that it wasn’t a big deal, though he didn’t look as certain about it as she felt. “Jumin isn’t a bad person, either. He is just very proud of his work and he has a lot of goals.”   
  
“Speaking of  _ the Jumin Han _ , I thought he hated women. Even when they said he was going to be getting engaged, no one believed it because everyone thought he was gay with how much he stays away from the female population. I heard he even made his assistant cut her hair and dress and look more masculine because of this hatred towards women.” Eun’s words were pretty accurate, unfortunately. Jaehee had told her about him ordering her to keep her hair short, which was quite a shame, really. 

“That’s not really my place to tell you. That’s Jumin’s personal stuff and I’m not going to gossip about him and his feelings on women. Nor his relationship status or his father’s and his relationship. That’s why I never told you about this in the first place.” MC sighed, rubbing her temples to ease some of the forming headache. Once Eun bit down on something, it was hard to get her to release her grip on it. 

“I’m so lost right now.” Seok groaned, head thumping down onto the table. “You two never share anything important with me, and I’m always left trying to piece everything together. Why are girls such chatterboxes?” He perched himself up on his elbows, pouting. “I need more guy friends.”

“Awe, you’d be lost without us, Seok!” Eun laughed, setting down her cup. It felt like MC had traveled to a different world. Back to the comfort of her usual routine - hanging out with her friends whom she’d known for a long time, far away from the drama happening with the RFA. Away from the bomb and the party and the hacker and the things that were turning her peaceful life upside down. 

“There is this new club that just opened up downtown. I was invited by some co-workers to go tonight. Wanna come along? I’d feel more at ease with you two there.” He was always the more awkward of the three of them. When it came to socializing, he was quite social around them, though he tended to be less outgoing with strangers, which was how he was able to gather all of his information when investigating. He was often ignored. MC couldn’t say that she related to that mentality. She could be a bit awkward sometimes, but she mostly found it easy to converse with those who were easy to chat with.

“See, like I said, lost without us.” If there was one thing Eun did, it was hold onto her power over others to use for later purposes. She was quite popular in her class, and had boys confessing their undying love to her on a daily basis. Despite her model-worthy looks, she turned down every modeling opportunity she was given, saying that she believed looks were only fleeting and if she relied on her appearance to get anywhere in life then she’d be doomed to an unhappy life.  _ I can only imagine what Zen would say if she told him that. _ Still, Eun had a kind heart. She would often tell the boys who asked her out that she would put in a good word for them if girls asked her about them, but she herself was not trying to date at the moment and instead was focused on her goals to become a wildlife conservationist. “I’m willing to go if MC agrees.”

_ Ah! Don’t pin it on me. Clubs aren’t really my favorite thing and you know that! But he looks so desperate… _ This was obviously a way for Eun to try to get her to start saying “No” to people, but the pleading puppy dog eyes that Seok had in his dark blue eyes were too desperate. She bit her lip a moment and then sighed. “Oh alright. I’ll go. But under one condition…” Her gaze traveled from Eun to Seok, slowly, to allow them time to register how serious she was. “No truth or dare while you two are drunk.” They raised their brows and she crossed her arms. “Last time you guys prank called my brother and he came to pick me up and made a huge scene about it! He’s so overbearing!”

“Don’t be like that, MC~” Eun sang, smiling as if she’d never contemplated doing something that evil in her life. “Haneul is so hot and collected until it comes to you. Then he’s like a little kid throwing a tantrum and it’s adorable! Though, admittedly, he’s not as handsome as Zen.” Oh no. Not another one falling in love with the white haired musical actor. He was going to end the world simply because girls believed no man was as attractive as he was. It’d cause a riot from the rest of the male population!

“Yeah, we don’t want a repeat of that. So as I said, no drunken truth or dare at the club and I’ll go.” She pointed at each of them with a finger, giving them her best ‘stern’ look. “Besides, right now I’m about to have a huge problem. My mom is friend’s with Glam Choi, but I just outed her plot to have her sister - you remember Sarah I’m sure - marry Jumin while she is marrying the Chairman.” Oops. She’d not intended to tell anyone of Jumin’s familial problems, but it just slipped out.  _ It’s because Haneul was involved. He really loved Sarah. And he and Eun used to be close until Sarah got jealous and forced him to ignore her and block her from his life. I think they both used to like each other at one point in time, but now those two in a room together is just awkward. _

The way Eun’s nose scrunched up at the mention of Sarah was enough to tell her that she had, indeed, remembered the woman. “Of course I remember her. She thought we had to be in a popularity contest even though she’s older than I am! What an immature bitch she was!” It was rare for her short-haired friend to get annoyed, but when she did, she was ready to commit a crime. “She had the nerve to tell Zack that you were using him and cheating on him! He never would have done what he did had she not- oh shit.” She stopped in her rant mid-sentence, staring at MC with wide eyes, who stared back. “I didn’t mean to tell you that.. You don’t need to hear that.”

“What about Zack and Sarah?” MC’s voice was pitched, but she found it difficult to breathe. Had something happened that she didn’t know about? It seemed like it had, since Eun looked like she’d accidentally spilled a very important secret. “You have to tell me, Eun.” 

The way her friend’s green eyes avoided her gaze raised another red flag in her mind. “I… don’t know if that’s a good idea, MC…” She barely looked up to catch her gaze, but looked down towards her dessert plate immediately. “You are barely starting to move past all of that. I don’t want this to send you back to that place you were in before… it was a really dark time for you. I was so worried.”

MC reached out and took her hand, squeezing harder than she’d intended. “Eun. I need to know.”   
  
It was a momentary pause before Eun looked at her again. “Before Zack… did what he did and kind of lost his mind… he was met by Sarah. It was right after Haneul called off the engagement because of what you told him and she was mad. I guess she told him all sorts of things about you, making up a lot of stories and lies. She convinced him that you didn’t love him. He didn’t believe her at first, but she kept going, holding onto her anger. I only know because he called me in the weeks leading up to the events, panicking about everything and trying to make sure you were happy. He didn’t want you to know that he was having doubts because of your low self-esteem at the time. But then he was framed for crimes he didn’t commit and was going to be arrested, she came back to once again blame you…” Why didn't she know any of this before? Why would Eun keep this from her? “He called me to tell me I was a liar before he went to your house… I… wanted to tell you but you were already so shaken up about it all.. I’m so sorry, MC..”

_ Sorry? You’re sorry? _ She wanted to scream and throw something at Eun. How  _ dare  _ she keep something like that from her! She might have been able to help him if she’d just called her and told her that he was being manipulated. Perhaps instead of beating her to the point of it being difficult to be recognized and shooting himself they might have been able to talk things out!  _ He might still be alive if you would have told me! _ The fire in her veins screamed for justice, tears spilling down her cheeks, glaring at the friend she’d trusted the most. “Why did you not tell me? I want a good reason.” Her voice was clipped, she didn’t want to attack her friend. Knew that logically Eun had a good reason. 

“You already blamed yourself enough, MC. If you want to hate me and never see me or talk to me again, then fine.” Eun’s expression was determined. “But I wasn’t going to give you more fuel to hate yourself. Because you would have regretted telling your brother the truth about Sarah. And at the time you might have done something you’d regret for the rest of your life. You are the type to hold a grudge, MC. But it’s never to others and always to yourself. I won’t let you give yourself more reasons to hate every little thing about yourself. Because you’re such a good person.” She stood and picked up her purse. “I’m going to give you some time to think about it. If I see you at the club tonight I know we are still friends.”

Even as Eun walked away, the negative feelings did not calm down. She knew that lashing out would be childish. She knew that she had worked through these emotions before and needed to get a grip on them. But knowing that her best friend had known why her ex-boyfriend had lost his mind… known why he had done what he had done… she’d been looking for answers for a while after that incident. Blamed herself everyday for not seeing the signs. For being naive enough to think things were fine. She thought she’d pushed him too far. That she had somehow not seen his emotional instability and had ruined it all. “I should go too. I’ll let you know about later, Seok.” She mumbled, grabbing her satchel and beginning her walk to the subway. She was supposed to go meet with Jumin once they were done, but his home lacked the comfort she’d created at the apartment. “I don’t really have a choice…” 

The apartment was much dirtier than she’d left it. Chip bags piled up in a circle around Seven’s equipment. Ph.D Pepper cans scattered here and there throughout the place. It was, her guess, Seven’s natural state of being at his home. She didn’t try to look for Seven - he wasn’t at his laptop and she heard the shower running so he was probably cleaning up. That was good. He should keep himself at least somewhat hygienic for his own health. She set her phone down - she’d check the chatrooms later. She hadn’t checked it since earlier that morning. Everyone was quite busy. Including Zen, thankfully, who’d had to cancel their meeting.  _ Guess I got lucky on that one. If he saw me crying again he might have tried to kill Jumin this time. _ He kind of reminded her of Haneul.

Haneul… “It’s been a while since I’ve called him.” Perhaps she should check in with him soon, see what was going on in his life. How he had been holding up. Even though he was a busy guy, he had always made time for her if she needed it. Though because of that, she often tried to stay out of his way as much as possible so that she wasn’t a hindrance to his work. 

“MC?” She spun around, not having heard the shower turn off or any doors open. “What are you doing here?”

She paused, staring at the freshly showered man before her. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, though the towel was being used to dry his dripping hair, glasses still clearing fog from their lenses. He looked confused, and then angry.  _ Always. I’m always making him angry… _ “I-I’m sorry. I came here without thinking…” She stepped back, putting more distance between them. “I didn’t mean to barge in. I just… all of my clothes are here… and my stuff… and... “ She glanced towards the floor. “I needed to be somewhere I felt most comfortable.” 

“You’re most comfortable at an apartment with a bomb that could go off?” Seven asked, his voice just as firm and cold as it had been the last time she had spoken to him.  _ No. I’m most comfortable around you, but I can’t really just outright say that to you because it’ll make things worse and I will just be pushing you away more by trying to be closer to you. _

Instead of admitting that, she opted for what she considered to be a lighter response. “Well of course. At least if the bomb goes off and incinerates everything, I won’t have any worries anymore, right? Cause then I’ll just be dead.” She smiled at him, but his scolding mask cracked. His brows were knotted, eyes softening and holding slight horror within their specks. 

“Don’t say something like that, MC!” He dropped his towel on the floor and closed the distance. “Why would you make such a joke? Don’t even talk about dying, okay?” His hands rested on her shoulders, slightly shaking her back and forth. She had to crane her neck back to look up at him. He sounded hurt that she would make a joke about it, even though it really was just a joke - despite some truth being laced behind it. Their eyes were locked on each other’s a moment. Seven’s pained expression tore at her chest. “It’s not a funny joke, okay? You shouldn’t ever wish to be dead. Ever.”

She watched him a moment, recognizing the familiar fear laced within his voice. The worry in his eyes dancing around like a crackling fire. “Zen told you, didn’t he?” She searched his eyes, not taking her gaze from him even for a second. Every twitch of his facial muscles told her all that she needed to know. “You don’t need to worry about me, Seven. I’m not suicidal anymore. I don’t want to kill myself or anything like that. So don’t start blaming yourself for who I used to be. I’m not that girl anymore.”

“You say that but you looked serious when you were joking just now! MC, tell me you’re not secretly planning on killing yourself. Tell me you’re not contemplating suicide because of me.” He was desperate now. He... _ He blames himself. He feels guilty and is blaming himself like I used to. I… can relate to him on a level he doesn’t understand yet.  _

MC reached up to cup his face with her hands. His hair was still damp, small droplets of water falling to his face like tears. She smiled softly at him, heart heavy. He was so concerned about her mental health and yet he didn’t take care of his own. If only he would let her support him. “Luciel Choi,” she said softly. “I would never in a million years want to be dead because of you.” Though she did wish he would stop saying such harsh things. They still hurt, even if she knew he intentionally said them to hurt her. It didn’t make them hurt less. “I really like you. I want to know more about you. I want to be by your side and help you through the roughest days of your life and make the best ones even better. But you told me to stay away. So I’m trying to stay away. But staying away hurts, okay? You can’t expect me to stay away from you and be  _ happy and fine _ with it. That’s expecting too much from me.” 

His breath caught as she spoke, eyes softening more with each word, until he looked like he might break down into tears. She didn’t want to make him cry, but she had to let him know her feelings. “But right now… I’m not okay. And you have to know that it’s okay to not be okay sometimes. I just found out… that Zack… he was provoked. By Sarah. To do what he did. And… I could have stopped it. If I had known… If I had been better. Been less naive and stupid..” She glanced to the side, breaking eye contact. “I don’t want to push you off the edge, too, Seven. I want you to choose me because you wanted me. I want you to choose me, because you like me too. I don’t want you to choose me out of feeling obligated to protect me because of the situation I’m in. I don’t want you to feel guilty about hurting me and choose me simply because you feel bad.” She pulled away from him, putting more distance between them. 

“So I’m trying to give you space, I’m leaving you alone. I’m not going to push you until you hate me, too. But you have to know I’m not doing it because it’s what I want to do.” She looked up, blinking rapidly. No more tears. She could hold in her emotions. She was not a child.  _ I will not cry in front of any more RFA members. I will not cry in front of any more people. _

“MC…” His hand lifted to reach out to her, but he paused and dropped it, looking down. “I’m sorry.” The whispered apology barely reached her ears, but it strung up her heart with a little bow, pulling it a bit too tight for her to breathe properly. “I… I can’t… I just... “ He looked up at her, the inner battle fighting in his eyes clear as day. Finally he ran his fingers through his drying hair and said, “I don’t hate you, MC. There is no world, no universe, no way in all things possible, that I could ever hate you.”

_ I see… You don’t hate me. But… you also don’t feel the same way, right? I’m sorry. Seven. I won’t push it or mention it again. I will stop making things difficult for you.  _ So she smiled. “If you don’t hate me then let’s start over again, shall we? Hi, my name is MC Song. My favorite color is red and my favorite food is a bacon cheeseburger with green chile on it from my hometown in America.” She held out her hand, hoping he would accept. 

He lifted his hand, reaching out and then dropping his arm. “This is stupid, MC.”  _ Nevermind then. I guess… not.  _ She tried to maintain her smile, awkwardly allowing her hand to drop to her side once more. Without another word, Seven retreated into his little summoning circle of Honey Buddha Chips and Ph.D Pepper. 

“That’s just poor manners, Seven!” She called out after him, huffing. “You said you didn’t hate me!” His shoulders tensed. She flinched, reminding herself that she just told herself she would stop making things difficult for him. “I believe you, okay? I was joking. My bad. I shouldn’t have said that… I’m… going to go get ready.” Even if she was upset with Eun for not telling her, the bubbly brunette was still her best friend. And if she didn’t show up to the club later on, she could possibly be making Eun feel similarly to how she felt right now with Seven.  _ I don’t want anyone else to be hurt. _

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100 % not gonna lie I think I might re-boot this and start from scratch with a more linear and more planned out storyline because this one had bullet points in my head that were WAY to vague and then when I ACTUALLY started to write things kinda went haywire sooo. yeah. Anyways keep an eye out for a new One-Shot with Zen x MC if you're interested! Gonna be angsty cause at the moment that seems to be what my brain wants to write.


	13. I'm [Not] Drunk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC gets a little drunk -- and denies all of it.  
> Seok has to babysit a drunk MC and deal with a mysterious caller.

“I think she’s had one too many to drink!” Seok called over the music blasting from the speakers. MC had to agree, seeing that Eun was dancing on top of one of the tables with a couple of Seok’s female co-workers who were letting loose. She’d been pressured to join them, but ultimately declined. It would be different if she was in the mood to dance, but after what happened with Seven earlier, she just wished to drink until the feelings dragging her down went away. 

Not to mention her entire lack of desire to even speak with Eun.  _ I don’t really want to see her right now. After what she said… I need more time to process it. But she’s always been there. We’ve had our ups and downs before. Not to mention it’s these two idiots or Seven, and honestly I think I’d rather deal with Eun than… _ She could hear Seven’s voice ringing in her ears, telling her to leave him alone and that her feelings didn’t matter. That he didn’t care about her feelings.

“She has the right idea though.” MC nodded, downing another shot. The burn of liquid fire down her throat and the horrid taste had her nose scrunching up in disgust. “Those are so gross.” But they made her feel so good, despite that. She’d already had a margarita. Or two. Honestly she wasn’t too sure where she was at herself in terms of alcohol consumption levels. The only thing she knew for sure - she needed all of it. Whatever they brought she would drink at this point.

It was like she was always being attacked. Her emotions were always under constant fire from those around her. She always attempted to remain positive, even during the worst of times, but it was hard to always be the rock. To always be the one who supported others when they were in trouble. When was she going to have someone have her back? When did she get to break down crying or be harsh because of her built up emotions and not push everyone away? Or at least have someone who stayed despite that?  _ Eun. She’s always been that person. _

When she’d first met Eun, the girl had been bullied for being popular. Because she was pretty and liked by all of the boys, she was hated. MC hadn’t cared about that. She’d greeted her and went on with her day. She hadn’t tried to speak with her. It had been Eun who approached her first. MC had been dealing with a group of fangirls who were upset that MC had turned down the “Prince” of their school. She barely knew the guy, but Eun had stepped up and warned them off. She didn’t need her help, but her willingness to step up and speak up for a stranger had started their friendship.

It was more than that, though. Eun had  _ always _ been someone that she could vent to. Someone she could trust with her deepest secrets and know without a shadow of a doubt that they were safe. Even now, she knew that Eun would not let her secrets spill, but it was different.  _ I understand why she’d keep that from me. I can’t say with certainty I wouldn’t have done the same in her situation. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt. _ It was a big revelation she’d gotten today. More than she could have ever wanted to know with everything going on in the RFA at the moment. It felt like she was living two entirely different lives, and neither of them wanted to give her any sort of solace. Some sort of serenity and peace. 

“Annnd I think it’s about time I cut  _ you _ off as well. You won’t let us know where you live, so how are we supposed to get you home safely?” Seok was already pulling away her glass, mumbling something to the waiter that sounded suspiciously like he was saying she was no longer allowed to consume alcohol.

Her eyes narrowed at him. She was completely fine. It wasn’t like she was drunk or anything! “How dare you say that!” She huffed, letting the air fill her cheeks and then deflate in the same moment. “I am an  **A** -dult. I can drink  _ all of the alcohol _ if I so please.” MC declared, reaching for her glass, only to find it empty. Oh boy. She felt normal though, despite this. “I can get back to the apartment on my own. No need to worry about me. I’m a big girl.” She added, nodding her head a little too much.  _ Adult? Please. I have so much to learn still.  _

Seok was laughing at her, so she stuck her tongue out at him. “I’m fully aware that you’re a big girl, but you’re also a lightweight.” He had always been the babysitter out of the lot of them. She let out a sigh, and jumped at the buzzing of her cell phone. Pulling it out of her pocket, she squinted at the screen.  _ Seven… _ She answered the call, holding the phone up to her ear. 

“Hiya Seven! Are you having fun all by yourself? Are you still searching for Saeran? I bet you know where he is, right? And you’re gonna go after him  _ all _ by yourself… and then you’ll get hurt and I’ll never see you again and… and… I forgot.” She had a lot she wanted to tell him, but even though the words were straight and clear-cut in her head, her mouth was not cooperating. She noticed Seok raise his brows, but she waved him off and made a face, nose scrunching. 

“I just - MC?” He sounded stressed already. She didn’t want to cause him any more problems but she was so frustrated with him! Why didn’t he just acknowledge her feelings? Or at least couldn’t he be better at denying his own feelings for her? Why did he have to say that they couldn’t be together? 

The biggest issue she found that bothered her the most was her own lack of control over her emotions. She’d always declared that she’d never be like those emotional girls who only thought about their boyfriend. Rolled her eyes at some of the girls who were practically obsessed with the guy they liked and never spoke of anything else. And yet… she found she related to them in a way, which irritated her. Why did Seven have so much of a hold on her? And why did it feel like his grasp was slowly tightened with every breath that she took?

_ “Why can’t you just tell me that you hate me and make this pain go away?” _ She thought.

“What?”

“Oh.. Oops.” She giggled, though it wasn’t funny at all. “I must have thought that out loud. Ignore me~ I’m fine! My life is great! I have just been wonderful since I met all of you guys, you know? Especially you, Seven. You sure know how to make a girl feel  _ special _ . That Playboy book you read sure paid off, right? ‘Cause you played me good.” Her throat tightened, feeling the liquid sloshing around in her stomach. She felt the liquid as it attempted to go out the same direction it came in. “ _ I have to go throw up. _ ” She set her phone down on the table and rushed to the bathroom. 

The voice on the other end of her phone was loud, but MC had left. Seok stared at the phone, making the executive decision to find out what was going on. He held the phone up to his ear, the rambling of the person on the phone continuing. “...and I understand you’re upset but are you drunk? You shouldn’t even be out right now..”  _ Who is this guy? _ Seok thought, glancing in the direction of the bathrooms. He knew he shouldn’t pry, but MC was acting strange lately and he only wanted to help. It would be fine to talk to the guy, right?

“Hey, dude?” Seok interrupted the guy’s speech. Had MC called him… Seven? Was that his real name? Where had she met this guy? “She’s in the bathroom right now. Had a bit too much to drink if you ask me.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Anyways, she doesn’t sound like she wants to talk with you right now, so don’t call her again, got it?”

For a moment the guy on the phone didn’t answer, and Seok was about to check to make sure he didn’t lose service or the call when the guy finally spoke. “Is she… okay? I didn’t know MC drank alcohol…” If he hadn’t seen the look on his dear friend’s face talking to the guy, he might have felt bad for the poor bastard. He sounded worried, though as far as Seok knew, MC didn’t have any other guy friends aside from himself. Though, she did talk about those other guys, right?

“She doesn’t, usually. But now I think I know why she did tonight.” He glanced to see if MC was coming back yet, but she wasn’t. If she took too long, he would have to go looking for her. “Look, a bit of advice? Stay away from MC. She doesn’t need some asshole pretending to care about her. She’s had a lot of self-esteem issues to overcome, and she’s finally finding her confidence and beginning to love herself again. I don’t want to watch that unravel because of some guy like you who isn’t worth her time.”

“You must be Seok…” The guy let out air that almost sounded like a laugh. But how did this guy know his name? MC must have talked to this guy a lot for him to know who he was. “You’re not wrong about any of that. I don’t deserve someone as bright as MC. I told her that, but she doesn’t give up… Seok… can I tell you something?” He didn’t respond, but the guy took that as a cue to keep talking anyways. “I don’t want to hurt MC… but… I’m not someone who should be involved with her. It’s too dangerous for her. I want to protect her but to do that she has to stay away from me.”

Fury flared up in his chest. Was this guy serious? “You sound like the same kind of douche who tells a girl it’s not them, it’s you. If you knew MC and really cared about her, you would let her make that decision for herself. You’re just sheltering your own feelings and-” A familiar yell was followed by a loud crash. “Shit.” He looked in the direction of the noise. Blood ran down MC’s forehead, standing on a table, wooden chair in hand. A guy was wiping his face as she slammed the chair down. “MC… dammit.” He hung up the phone, shoving it into his pocket. 

Everything would have been just fine had the guy just left her alone. She told him she wasn’t interested, but he insisted. Thought he could be pushy with her and she’d fold like a meek girl. MC was already seething because of Seven, and this guy was just pushing all of the wrong buttons. When she shoved him off of her and he pushed her hard enough for her to hit her head against one of the shelves holding decoratives and feel the blood… that was when she felt the final thread of fabric holding together her sanity snap.

He tried to apologize, but she walked off, to go find Seok and Eun. To tell them she wanted to leave. This did not register with the unattractive man who thought it would be a good idea to follow her, even after she told him to get lost. It wasn’t a big deal, just a bit of blood. He persisted, so she climbed onto a table and hoisted up the nearest empty chair with her. 

“I… told… you… to leave me alone.” She swung the chair down on the guy’s back. “What do you not understand about that?” She shouted, feeling unsteady on her feet. Her hands were shaking enough that she noticed. People were already approaching them to find out what was happening, but she only recognized Seok who was making his way through the crowd. “Seok!” The relief washed over her like a warm blanket on a cold night, dampening her anger. “I’m so glad you’re-” A hiccup interrupted her sentence. Stumbling to get down from the chair, she used the kneeling man she’d just beaten as a step-stool to get down. “..here.” She finished a second later, now in front of her friend. His hands were firm against her arms, steadying her.  _ Oh, was I swaying? _

“What did you do?” Seok’s expression was completely horrified. She knew that she’d never done anything similar ever in her life. Not in front of him or Eun at least. Always controlling the temper that was only unleashed when she had a bit of liquid courage to drown out the voice of reason that always kept her in check. But the fact that he made it sound like she’d done something wrong was just downright offensive!  _ Did you see what he did? You wouldn’t be looking at me if you saw. _

“He kept coming onto me and wouldn’t listen! And then he shoved me and I hit my head and now I’m bleeding.” She had forgotten about her own throbbing injury until she brought it up. Her hand reached up to touch the tender spot, air hissing through her teeth. “I tried to ignore it and find you but he didn’t stop so…” She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. 

“So you  _ hit him over the head with a chair?” _ Seok made it sound like she still had done something bad. She giggled, nodding her head. The way Seok’s arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at her reminded her of Seven’s angry expression. Her bottom lip trembled, and in the next moment she was in tears. Was she always going to be a screw up? When could she ever get anything right? The only one who seemed to think she wasn’t doing the wrong thing was Jumin. Even Zen seemed a bit unsure about some of the things she’d confessed to him before. “Oh great.. You’ve definitely had too much to drink.” She didn’t hear any of his conversation with the people around them, nor the guy who she had slammed a chair on , but she caught the gist of it - so long as she left the premises to never return, they’d leave the authorities out of it. 

_ I didn’t do anything I shouldn’t have. He was being pushy. _ She defended herself silently. Eun joined them, asking what had happened with a very colorful vocabulary that the entire club could hear. With the promise of being told the whole story later, Eun was sent off in a taxi, leaving Seok and MC to argue about the importance of keeping the apartment’s location a secret, and if she needed a hospital. True friend he was, the man insisted she go to a doctor - to him she looked like she needed stitches. MC, on the other hand, believed that she was perfectly capable on her own and didn’t want her mother called. 

“Then who am I supposed to call to take care of you? I can’t take you back to my place. You know that Rei doesn’t like you because she thinks I’m secretly in love with you.” He sighed. “If not your mom, who? It’s not like I can call Zack anymore to come to your rescue, MC.”

“Don’t talk about Zack.”  _ You need to calm down, MC. Zack is gone. You know this. You’ve moved on past this.  _ “You weren’t there, Seok! You didn’t have to watch him turn the gun on himself and pull the trigger! You didn’t spend the next three years wishing that it was you instead!”  _ Stop! You don’t feel that way anymore. What are you even saying? Get a grip, MC. You’re not a child anymore. Count to ten. Breathe in. Breathe out. _

Her shout brought silence between them. “Seok… I.. I’m sorry.. I don’t mean that. I’m just… I think I’m drunk… my words… they’re..” She began to giggle uncontrollably, her wet lashes were probably smearing what little make up she’d worn all over her cheeks, the entirety of her body being supported by Seok while she cried. He was stronger than he looked.  _ I’ve never heard him talk about working out. Why is he so strong? _

Blurred vision made it difficult to tell what kind of expression her friend held, but she knew that if she remembered anything, in the morning she would regret saying anything about Zack. He had been a good friend of Seok’s. She’d not known this until later in their relationship, but the two had grown up together and had often been slightly competitive with each other. They were close. And Zack’s death had hurt him a lot as well. Had been a way for her and Seok to really bond.

“MC!” _That’s..._ her head swiveled around, the nausea hitting her almost immediately. _Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up._ _Did the temperature suddenly drop? It’s freezing._ “Seok, right? I’m a friend of MC’s. I can take her home.” She found herself leaning away from the man holding her, reaching out with grabby hands towards the sound of his voice. _Seven. He came._

“You’re the ass from the phone.”

“That’s not important. Right now MC’s health and wellbeing is bigger, don’t you think? She’s clearly drunk and - she’s bleeding! She hit her head? When? Have you checked for signs of a concussion?” Red hair and big yellow-gray striped glasses came into sight, her vision blurry. Giggling, she reached out to grab his glasses. 

“Are you worried?” She hiccuped again, smiling. “Good.” Her smile disappeared, brows furrowing together in a knot. “You should be. My head really hurts. And my feet still hurt from the glass. Most importantly,” her voice rose an octave. “My heart hurts.” She clumsily pointed to where she was certain her heart was, though the frown she could make out on Seven’s face was difficult to determine if she was correct or not. “I want Seven.” She declared. “Seok, lemme go.” 

Once more, she wiggled her fingers in an attempt to reach for the hacker. There was a pause before she was passed from one person to the next.  _ This means you don’t hate me, right? Do you forgive me? _ She took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his neck and hold on tightly to the man she’d fallen so ridiculously in love with.  _ God, I’m pathetic. I told myself I’d never be obsessed with a guy ever again. Never be vulnerable like this.. And here I am.  _ His arms were warm, and he smelled like Honey Buddha Chips and Ph.D Pepper.

“We can talk later, okay? Let’s get you back to the apartment, okay?” He exchanged his number with Seok, promised he’d keep him updated, and ushered her into the taxi he’d taken to get to the club quickly, having paid quite a hefty sum in cash to ignore some traffic laws. Inside the backseat of the taxi, he had one arm slung around MC’s shoulders, allowing her to rest herself in his chest. “I think we should keep you away from alcohol for the foreseeable future.” He told her. 

The lingering fire within her flared in her chest, burning her throat. “What’s it to you? You’re planning on leaving us all anyways. Leaving the RFA. Jumin. Zen. Jaehee. Yoosung.  _ Me. _ ” Her arms flopped across her chest, rather than firmly situating themselves in their place. “If I wanna go drink, I’ll do it. You won’t be around to tell me not to. You’ll be gone. You’re leaving, just like every other person I’ve ever cared about. Woosh! In the wind. You’ll be gone, but you’ll be taking another chunk of my soul with you. _ I’m gonna die without a soul at this rate _ !” Hands flinging into the air, nearly smacking Seven in the face, MC found herself on a bit of a tangent. “I thought we were friends, Seven.  _ Friends. _ I mean, yeah, I like you. Hell, I like you  _ a lot. _ But more importantly I… I shared stuff with you. I opened up to you. And.. and I thought you did too. I thought we had a  _ connection _ kind of like in those romance mangas where they meet and then can’t stop thinking about the other.”

Twisting so that she could get a better view of the playboy king himself, MC stared at him, lips pursed and brows knitted together. “Then you go and say that  _ none of it was real _ like nothing mattered to you. You said my feelings don’t matter. That all that matters is my safety. But that’s not for someone to decide if my feelings aren’t important. And it’s even worse because it’s obvious you’re lying! You’re not even being honest with me! You can’t look me in the eyes and honestly tell me that you don’t feel the same way that I do. I’m not smart like Jaehee but I’m smart enough to realize that putting yourself at risk with your dangerous job because you’re afraid I might blow up means more than ‘I don’t care about your feelings’, okay?” Her voice had dropped to mimic how he sounded when he told her that he didn’t care about what she was feeling. 

“MC... “ He sighed through his nose, removing his glasses to rub his eye with the back of his hand. 

“Don’t do that.” He paused, glasses off of his face, eyes staring down at her. “Don’t say my name like that. Like you’re going to tell me something that hurts you more than it hurts me.” She continued, breaking eye contact. “Whatever it is you want to say, don’t say it unless it’s the truth. Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie to yourself.”

_ If I ever get asked to do something by a creepy stranger again, I’m just going to follow my instincts and turn them down. This is too much. _ She thought, letting out a sigh. Her thoughts wandered. Seven’s arm wrapped around her was warm. Leaning into his chest as he supported her felt nice, even if he was only doing it because she had a little too much to drink. “Hey, Luciel?” How could she be mad at him when he came for her? How did he even know where she was? “If I don’t remember this in the morning… you’re not allowed to forget, m'kay?” She patted his chest twice, feeling her eyelids grow heavy. “Issac Sho… he’s the one Zen was talking about.”

“Why did you-”

MC hummed, yawning. “You once said you wanted to know more about me… he..” Another yawn had her eyes closing, drifting off to sleep.


	14. History

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seven cares for MC & struggles with his own emotions

Even though he’d told himself he wouldn’t dig deeper into MC’s past, even though he’d sworn that he wouldn’t invade her privacy any more than he already had at V’s request, he found himself sitting on the bed next to MC while she slept, keeping an eye on her with his laptop perched on his legs. The name she’d given him sounded vaguely familiar,  _ Issac Sho _ . The way she’d reacted about the guy made him feel squeamish. Did he really want to know more?

He glanced down at the drunken girl, now asleep after over an hour of throwing up in the bathroom and refusing to allow him to go in and at least hold her hair back. She didn’t want his help, she’d brazenly shouted. If he wasn’t so concerned about her, he might have found it cute, the way she had drunkenly declared she could take care of herself. The building desire to protect her grew, and he knew how hard it would be once he had to leave her. When he first saw Saeran in that state, he’d been confused. He had known what he needed to do quickly after that, knew he needed to keep his distance from the woman lying next to him, wrapped in his jacket. 

Seven had always considered himself good at keeping others at arm's length. While he cherished the other members of the RFA, he’d always kept a safe distance away from them. And they’d all been okay with keeping it that way. The day MC popped up in the chatroom was a day he’d remember. The first time he saw her on his screen, her information about her family and their company, how many volunteer organizations she’d been involved in, the way she’d write her essays for class that were always in defense against those who were wrongly accused. He had even found a single file that was locked from her old high school - she’d gotten into a serious fight but the charges against her were dropped because it was self defense.

There was so much more to her than he’d ever thought that first day. 

After all of that information, he’d been expecting a slightly violent girl. He knew she’d do good managing the guests for the party if she decided to stay, and had found himself hoping she wouldn’t choose to leave. That she would stay with them. And she had. And little by little he’d found that he was curious about her. He enjoyed talking with her. It wasn’t until she mentioned how uneasy she felt in the apartment alone that he’d even remembered there was the bomb. He knew that should have set off alarm bells. Knew that if the hacker chasing them had been able to get into the chatroom he’d encoded himself, there was the slightest chance of risk. But he’d been too cocky and it almost caused MC her life. 

But even then, she was hardly ever worried about her own safety.  _ Is she lying when she says that she isn’t wanting to die anymore? Is she hiding that much pain? _ He knew he had no room to judge her, but the mere possibility that his light in the darkness was burning out bothered him to no end. 

_ No _ . Never had he realized that MC would become so important to him. He was bothered by how worried he was about her. He couldn’t focus on his work, had to keep an eye on her constantly to feel reassured that she was indeed okay. She’d never know how much panic he felt when he didn’t see her in front of the camera. Nor would she understand how much joy and relief he felt when she’d spent hours in front of it, chatting with him through writing. How much paper had she wasted? She could have texted him, but she didn’t. She hand wrote each word she wanted to tell him. Each curve of the letters and hand-drawn emojis were intentional, calculated. The little faces she would make at him, as if she weren’t looking at a camera he was watching, but as if she were looking at  _ him _ as if he were there with her. How she chewed the back of her pen when she got stuck when she thought. He couldn’t forget the look in her eyes when he told her the biggest lie he’d ever said in person. “I don’t care about your feelings!” It was only to put distance between them, but the desire to take back every word even as he said it nearly overwhelmed him. 

He knew. 

Knew that with those words, he had squeezed her heart until it burst. The heart she’d handed to him with a smile and a laugh. The promise of taking her for a drive in one of his babies. He’d wanted that for them, truly. Even if he had told her the conversations were pointless. That they didn’t really know each other… it was all a lie. He knew that there was some truth to his words, to his beliefs, but at the same time it was wrong. She may not know his birth name. She may not know his birthday or about his past, but she knew  _ him. _ The way she saw right through his ruse, through his carefully crafted mask and directly into the very fiber of his being and he knew that what she was seeing was  _ him. _

Her words always stung. She was trying to do what he’d told her to do. He wanted to reach out and pull her close and kiss her and tell her how much he cared about her. Tell her all of the things he’d regretted not saying the minute she was in Saeran’s grasp, facing certain death. The way his heart had fallen into his stomach and the overwhelming fear that he’d never get to tell her how he felt. The way she’d so bravely gotten angry in  _ his _ place, at his own twin brother and fought for herself when he couldn’t do anything to protect her, stuck in one spot. 

He’d realized it then. 

That MC was much stronger than he could ever hope to be. She was in a different universe than him altogether. She was brave and she had trusted him with her heart. A heart that was stronger than he’d seen in anyone he’d ever met before. A heart he’d come to believe was invincible. Until he crushed it before her very eyes. A heart whose Achilles heel was his own hands. A woman strong enough to hand her feelings to him and say, “I trust you, Seven.” And to still be more worried about him, despite her own problems. Despite her life being in danger she’d not wanted him to come to the apartment, in fear of him blowing up if she did. 

_ I’m curious about her. I want to know more, but I know I don’t deserve to know. Not after what I’ve done to her.  _ But he’d told himself when she was with Jumin. Told himself he wouldn’t push her away anymore. He was tired of pushing her away. It hurt him to watch her pretend to be holding herself together. Hurt him to know that she was crying in the arms of another man, even if they were his friends. It bothered him. The first time he’d been angry, even, because how could she trust him with her heart but not her tears? He’d felt shame, then, for even thinking he deserved the right to comfort her when he had been the one who hurt her. The cause of her tears to begin with. 

More than that, he felt the stabbing pain in his chest when he’d come to the horrifying conclusion that she’d not cried in front of him because she didn’t want it to annoy him. That she’d kept her feelings under a tight lock and so obviously fake ‘okayness’ for  _ his _ sake, because he’d told her that she was being a nuisance. Told her to leave him alone. That her feelings were troublesome. 

Next to him, MC stirred and snapped him out of his thoughts.  _ If she mentioned this Issac guy, he has to be someone important to her.  _ He hadn’t seen anything about an Issac when he’d researched her, and he wasn’t even sure he wanted to look into it. But maybe he could understand more. Was this the guy Zen had told him about? The one that MC had been dating who’d caused her so much pain?

_ Didn’t Zen say that the guy was going to shoot MC? _ He probably should have felt some sort of sympathy for the guy, since he inevitably shot himself, but he couldn’t really be all that upset by it because  _ anyone who pointed a gun at MC shouldn’t live.  _ It was a strong feeling he knew wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. What if he had pulled the trigger?  _ I’d never have met her. She’d not be in so much pain. But she’d also not be alive.  _ He couldn’t handle the sharp pains stabbing into his chest at the image being created in his head. 

The image of MC, a gun being held to her head. More than likely MC had been understanding about it. Had blamed herself even though the gun was aimed at her. Even though  _ her life _ was the one at risk, not his. 

He tried to remain quiet even as the clicking of keys filled the room. It was so quiet, but he didn’t feel lonely. MC was asleep next to him, but he didn’t allow himself the pleasure of admiring how cute she looked, wearing his jacket and cuddling up next to him. He tried to ignore how close she was. Ignore how peaceful she looked, despite the earlier circumstances. The trust she placed in him… the way she’d relaxed anytime she heard his voice when she looked worried…

**_“Issac Sho, died at age 18, was a college student at Sky University. It was reported that he broke into his former girlfriend’s dorm room with a gun. A reliable source said they heard Mr. Sho shout at his girlfriend, 17 year old MC Song. There were no reports of what Ms. Song had said, but a close friend of hers, whose name remains anonymous, claims that Ms. Song had been attempting to calm the enraged student._ **

**_Ms. Song reported that Mr. Sho, “... believed that I had wronged him in our relationship, and that I was to blame for his current situation with the authorities.” She also claims to have no knowledge of his declining mental state. It was difficult to speak with Ms. Song for more details, as the police stated she was in shock from witnessing the suspect shoot himself after turning the gun away from Ms. Song. The events that took place were a tragedy at Sky University. A group of Mr. Sho’s friends are planning a memorial…”_ **

It was pointless to read the rest of the article. Seven didn’t want to know. He had read enough when he confirmed that a guy who had more than likely once claimed to like MC, possibly even claimed to ‘love’ her, pointed a gun at her with the intention of hurting her. Of ending her life. 

He couldn’t help but look down at her, sleeping next to him. How could she trust someone as dangerous as him after going through something so horrible? While he’d been in plenty of situations akin to that, it was different for him. He was an agent. He had nothing to lose. It was what he’d signed up for. MC had simply been in a relationship and -  _ and she believed she had caused him to turn against her to the point of killing her. She believed she somehow deserved it, didn’t she? And she said she didn’t want to push me that far… does she truly believe I could ever point a gun at her? That I could ever… _ He supposed he couldn’t answer that question without the reminder that he’d allowed her to live in a place that had a bomb powerful enough to incinerate the entire building in less than a minute. 

Looking at it that way, was he really any different than this Issac Sho guy? Had he not put her in danger, and told her she was not important? That he didn’t care for her?  _ How could I have been so stupid? _ His fingers moved on their own, brushing gently across MC’s cheek. She looked too cute, curled up in a ball, the sleeves of his jacket too long for her hands, tucked happily inside of the sleeves. He’d given it to her on their way up to the apartment when her teeth didn’t stop chattering. It wasn’t too cold out, but she looked like she would become an ice statue.

Another quick glance at the article and he found himself deleting all of it. It would be impossible for him to erase the event from MC’s mind, but he could at least rid any lingering evidence on the internet. Spare MC from ever being able to look it up and be reminded of all of her pain.  _ Seventeen… that was three years ago, no? _ She was still in school at that time. It was pointless to wish he could go back in time and meet her sooner to save her from all of that pain and trauma, but he still felt the want to become capable of such a feat. A superpower he wished he could trade anything for. 

He opened up the chatroom, seeing that Jaehee, Jumin, and Zen were all online. He didn’t see much of Yoosung recently, but it was likely due to the college boy’s obsession with video games. 

**Jumin: Luciel, is MC doing okay? She was insistent on leaving here.**

**707: Yes. She’s asleep right now.**

**Zen: She’s asleep? Good..**

**Zen: You better not be thinking of trying anything!**

It was almost comical. He knew better than anyone what he’d put MC through the past couple of days, and yet he still worried over such a thing? Though he supposed he couldn’t blame him. MC  _ was _ quite the beautiful woman, and sometimes she said things that really struck a chord within him. 

**707: Don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye on her.**

**707: She drank too much.**

**707: Lightweight MC!**

**707: She stole my jacket, too;;**

**Zen: WHAT!?!**

**Zen: Is she alright???**

**Jumin: She drank some wine with me the other night**

**Jumin: It was quite the lovely experience :)** **  
** **Jaehee: I see. Take care of her, Luciel.**

**Jaehee: We have no choice but to leave her in your care.**

**Zen: Jaehee! How can you say that?**

**Zen: Seven is the last person we should leave her with!**

**707: Oh! She’s stirring! Gotta go!**

**Zen: Hey don’t run away!** **  
** **[707 has left the chatroom]**

He made his exit from the chatroom swiftly and set his phone down. MC was dead to the world asleep, but he didn’t want to talk with Zen, who had known so much more about her than he had. So many things he didn’t know about her. More than that, he recognized the name. Yoosung had told him about the ‘tragedy’ that occurred in one of the room’s in the girl’s dorms. Said that the ‘girl was practically a genius like you, only 17 and in college’ and had been attacked. While the reporters didn’t know a lot, he told him that rumors circulated all the time about it. No girl wanted that dorm, saying it was cursed. 

He’d been super into the story when Yoosung had told it to him, but now that he knew the girl who had been involved directly with the story it sounded unsettling. Was that why she was not afraid? Was it because she had stared death in the face and survived? Though that didn’t make sense. Quite a few people would develop quite the phobia of guns, and would definitely be nervous around men. But MC wasn’t like that. She was stronger because of what she went through. He’d already learned this, but it still amazed him the more he found out about her. 

MC remained asleep the rest of the night. He tried to refocus on what he was doing, but it was difficult. He knew that Vanderwood was looking for him, but that wasn’t his biggest concern. He’d thought, all of this time, that Saeran was safe. Had always listened to V and trusted him blindly without even attempting to look for his twin because he worried about the danger he’d put him in if he left a trace of his brother for the agency or any of his enemies to find. Had always assumed that V was taking care of him, and he was living a good life. But to see him like he had… he couldn’t trust V anymore. 

His initial plans were shot to hell, too.  _ I can’t leave MC. What would happen to her? _ If he left her, and she ended up dead because of her recklessness, he would never forgive himself. How could he protect her if she wouldn’t protect herself?  _ I can’t ask her to come with me. Putting her more at risk…  _ But then what? He couldn’t leave her at the apartment either, not when Saeran had figured out his complicated algorithm. For all he knew, it would be changed as soon as he left and it would put her at risk all over again.  _ Dammit, MC. This is why you should have stayed with Jumin! _

“Seven?” His sleeping beauty was stirring, though her brows were furrowed. Likely due to her head injury he’d taken care of.  _ Refusing to see the doctor. _ And he couldn’t bring anyone outside of the RFA into the apartment, either. “You’re still,” she winced, reaching for her head. “Here.” Had she been assuming he would be gone when she woke up?

“Careful, MC. You are not only hungover but you hit your head pretty hard.” He set his laptop aside, helping her sit up. She looked exhausted, despite how much sleep she’d gotten. It was already almost noon, though he hardly cared about the time. His days had blurred together a long time ago. Though it was a little over a week since he’d met MC. Only that short period of time, and yet he cared so much about her. She had to be something else. 

“Emails… I need to check them…”  _ She’s worried about the emails right now?  _

“Don’t think about those right now.”

Her glazed over expression was quite a spectacle. Everything was in slow motion, the way she blinked, her hand moving to cradle her head as though it was aching, even the way her tongue wet her lower lip was slow and difficult to keep from staring at. He was on fire where their skin met, one that he desperately wished to dive right into despite the possible burns. She was radiant. She was his sun. 

“Go back to sleep, okay? I’ll go get you some water and medicine so rest, please.” Distance. Even after insisting he was not going to push her away anymore he couldn’t help the worms in his stomach the closer she was to him. A knife twisting further into his chest. The way her fingers clung to the hem of his shirt when he tried to get up to fetch her water. He found himself sinking back against the wall with one pleading look, brimming with tears. “Gaahh! Why are you crying?” He searched her face for any signs, any logic to her tears. His hands moved to brush them away with his thumbs, wishing they’d stop. Hating the way his heart sank into his stomach, knowing it was his fault again. 

“Crying?” Her hand bumped his fingers to feel her own face. “My eyes are really dry. I need to take out my contacts.” 

“Ehh?!” He didn’t know she wore glasses. Didn’t realize that she’d been wearing contacts the entire time. “Don’t you know how bad it is to wear your contacts for days at a time without letting them soak in solution?” He got up from the bed and reached for her, pulling her up with him. “You’ll damage your eyes like that!”

“I didn’t want you to see me in my glasses... “ Her voice was quiet, and he couldn’t wrap his head around why she’d think that to begin with. “It’s stupid. I’m aware of that, okay? I told myself it was stupid… but I wanted you to think I didn’t have such a flaw… I look ridiculous in my glasses…” The more she spoke, the quieter her voice got. Was she really embarrassed about such a thing?   
  


“Come here… that is stupid. You’re beautiful with or without contacts. I’ll prove it. Let’s get those glasses on you and rest your eyes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided you can't ever see MC's eyes because she's actually blind as a bat xD


	15. Morning Hangover & Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MC & Seven have a bit of a heart to heart - MC has a conversation with her mother about Sarah Choi.

“I’ll do it, I’ll take them out!” MC couldn’t contain her laughter. Seven’s fingers were deadly in their attack to her sides. Being ticklish was something she always considered a major weakness. She’d always been able to handle physical pain fairly well, but being tickled was an entirely losing battle. “St-stop tickling me! I-I can’t breathe!” Even though he didn’t look very strong, she was surprised that she couldn’t pull his hands away at all. She knew she wasn’t that weak. 

“You better! Or I’ll have to punish you.” The glint in his eyes was serious enough, though it went completely ineffective due to the smile on his face. His fingers stopped their relentless attack, giving her a moment to catch her breath. The process went pretty fast; pulling out her case for both glasses and contacts, washing her hands, taking out the contacts, and finally… 

“Just put them on. I’m sure you’ll look cute~” He held the large lenses in his hands, holding them up to her face. Though she wanted to struggle, he was entirely too blurry and it was quite a shame to not see his face. MC didn’t budge as he placed the glasses on her face, bumping her ears once before they went on properly. She looked up at him nervously, fingers fiddling behind her back. Silence filled the air between them, Seven doing nothing but staring at her. “Wow…” His voice was soft, almost breathless. Was it that bad? “You look… MC, I didn’t think you could get any cuter! Look at you. We should get matching frames! It’d be awesome, right?”

Her face felt too hot. She definitely needed to go drink some water, but Seven blocked her exit out of the bathroom. “Matching lenses would be cute~ Like a couple!” MC didn’t even think, hands covering her mouth. Swallowing her own shame at her words, she mumbled behind her hands. “Sorry, I said I’d stop pushing you about it…”

“MC…” The way he said her name sent her blood rushing through her ears, roaring as though she were too close to a waterfall. She’d messed up again, right? Oh boy. Why couldn’t she get it right? Why did the words that hurt him keep leaving her lips?  _ Why can’t I stop myself from saying it as soon as I think it?  _ “I know this is selfish of me… but could you… give me some time?” His hand grabbed hers, but his eyes stayed locked on her own. “I need time to process your feelings… the me that you knew in the chatroom… that was a mask. Agent 707 who was always fun. The real me… the me that is before you… I need time.”

That…  _ I thought he was going to yell at me again. _ Relief melted away like snow on a sunny day. She didn’t think her cheeks could handle smiling so wide for too much longer, nodding her head eagerly like some child who’d been told to be a good girl if she wanted a present. “I’ll give you all of the time you need, Seven!” She promised, holding up a pinky finger. “And… and if you reflect and truly decide you don’t like me then I’ll accept it, but-” Her gaze cut to the floor. “I will need you to give me time to heal from that kind of rejection, okay?” 

“MC…” There he was, saying her name like that again. As though he were praying to God. As though it was the most important name in the world, and if he had to choose a word to have to repeat for the rest of his life it would be her name. Like he was taking a breath of air by saying it. “I will try not to keep you waiting for too long.” 

“Take all of the time you need.” Suddenly, her glasses no longer felt like a burden. They didn’t feel shameful to wear, even as she had to push them up the bridge of her nose - she needed to tighten the screws. “I’m…” Her yawn broke her sentence. “Gonna go back to sleep. My head still hurts and this light is way too bright.” Being tickled had temporarily eased the symptoms of her hangover in the spur of the moment, but now she felt worse than when she woke up. 

“C’mon. I’ll guide you.” The awkwardness misted away, the feeling of Seven’s hands pressing into her shoulders to guide her back to the room as though she still couldn’t see started up another giggle fit. The thought crossed her mind only for a moment, a brief pause in time, but it was enough for her to make up her mind. Smiling to herself, MC tilted from side to side, waddling in a manner as closely related to a penguin as she could get. “What are you doing?” Behind her, despite his confusion, he was laughing. 

“Waddle waddle waddle!” It seemed like such a silly thing to do, but she knew it was a distraction. She didn’t want to sit and talk with Seven at the moment about feelings. The talk seemed over, but after all of the crazy events in the past couple of days, she wanted to just relax. Needed some kind of break from everything going on in her life. 

  * _“Your mother is attempting to reach you on your cellular device” -_



For a moment she simply stared at the device, but finally picked it up after a questioning eyebrow raise from the hacker beside her. “Good morning, mom.” She sat on the edge of the bed, nails scratching her scalp. A shower would be a really good idea. She felt entirely too gross and icky. But also… sleep.

“Do not act like you are unaware as to why I am calling you, MC.” She already knew where the conversation was headed, yes. But that didn’t mean that it should affect her relationship with her mother, right? “I got a call from Glam the other day. She claimed that you threatened Sarah. You realize how important her cooperation is to be the face of our new beauty line? Not to mention they say you ruined another of her engagements!”

It was safe to say they didn’t tell her mother the full story, though she wasn’t sure if she’d believe her or not. “I apologize for throwing a wrench in your long-standing friendship with Glam, mother, but I will not apologize for the rest. We both know Sarah Choi is Glam’s little sister. Glam Choi is marrying Mr. Han, the CEO of C&R, correct?” She didn’t really pause for any answering time. “Well they were trying to marry Sarah to his son, Jumin Han. First, that’s plain wrong to lie and try to pass her off as a student of hers. If Sarah wouldn’t have cheated on Haneul we would have been sisters. I would have been fine with that. But she hurt him. You and I both know why he is refusing to meet anyone right now.”

Her mother was oddly silent on the other end of the phone, so she decided to keep going. “Jumin is a friend of mine. We are now business partners as well, are we not? You wanted to mend our family’s relationship with C&R as well as the Han family and I’ve done that. However, you know how I feel about my friends. I won’t let this stupid scheme of Glam’s and Sarah’s to cause problems. If we need to, I know someone who may model for our new fashion line if I ask nicely, which could tremendously help boost sales. Not to mention I can ask Eun to model for the beauty line again - you know she had fun last time and though she won’t do it professionally she said she would always model for us if we need it. We all know Eun is beautiful, and even without her fame she’s always sought after by a lot of famous scouts. She’ll catch the eyes of people for a beauty line. We don’t need Glam Choi and Sarah Choi. I’ve respected them this far because of your friendship, but I mean what I said. I will tear them from the root if they want to start causing problems again.”

“MC, you cannot make such decisions as to-”

“Should I speak with father about this, then? The information about Sarah Choi and Glam Choi will be released publically soon. Jumin does not wish for a forced marriage. Should our company then be shown to be cooperating with them even after we just made an agreement with C&R? That will look bad on us. If Glam still gets married to Mr. Han after this information comes out, then I will deal with the consequences and clean up the mess. However, I’m certain this will change everything, as I know how much Mr. Han places upon trust in a relationship, as much as he’s obsessed with women. He’s not a bad man.”

“Are you certain this friend of yours could model for our clothing line?” She was starting to come around, as MC knew that she would. Her mother was not an idiot in the slightest. Although she may have some times where she gets a little too caught up in drama and things that most women got wrapped up in, her morals were strong. She was quite the mother. “I’m not sure if my friendship with Glam will stay after this, it was hanging on threads after Haneul…”

_ Good. We don’t need Glam. She’s been manipulating you for years but you’ve been blinded by your loyalty to her. I do the same, though, so I never judged you for it.  _ She let out a sigh. “I think he will. He doesn’t usually take modeling opportunities very often, but he’s super handsome so I have no doubt he’ll bring a lot of attention to our fashion line. He’s a musical actor and-”

“My goodness! Are you talking about that Zen boy from the musical where he gets tied up?” So her mother had heard of him. She hummed her response. “Oh he’s so handsome! We reached out to him before to model, but he turned us down. Do you really think he will do it?”

Well her mother had certainly changed her tune. She must have gone to one of his performances with Haneul, who had always had an interest in musicals and scouting people. It had probably been Haneul who’d suggested reaching out to Zen about modeling. “As I said, he’s a friend of mine. Though if he does this, keep in mind he prefers musical acting, so don’t try to pressure him into changing careers, okay?”

“A pity… he’s quite handsome.” Her mother sighed on the other end of the phone nearly causing her to laugh. She was serious, too. Zen’s ego would inflate terribly if he knew her mother knew of him and thought he was handsome. “What if we had that Zen boy and Eun model together? They’d look like a great couple, and it would really shoot up sales prices.” MC hadn’t even thought of that. Though… it was true. Zen and Eun would look great together. Eun was gorgeous naturally, much like Zen, and if they both modeled clothing together, it would increase sales prices for all genders. 

“Let me ask them to make sure they’d be comfortable with it, okay?”  _ Though judging by the way Eun acted when she saw Zen the first time, I don’t think she’d mind. I really want to make sure it is okay with Zen first, since I know he’s already insecure about his success in the musical industry. If I ask him to model, would he think I don’t believe in his acting? I haven’t actually been able to see him perform, so I couldn’t honestly judge him, but Jaehee isn’t the type of woman who’d lie about something like his talent.  _

“And what’s this I hear about you being friends with Jumin Han? No girl has ever gotten close to that man aside from his assistant, I’ve heard! We just met with him the other day and he was quite cold to be your friend.” Yet again, her mother’s perceptive eye for things like that never left her with a moment to catch her breath.

“I will explain it to you later, okay? Right now I really need to be going. I’ve been on the phone far longer than I expected. I’m a little hungover right now, and my head really hurts.” Her headache was already starting to go away, but she could see Seven holding in his laughter out of her peripheral vision and didn’t need more questions from her mother about the boy she was with so early in the morning… or… wait… it was about afternoon now, wasn’t it?

A thought struck her in that moment. 

_ If Seven and I were to date… would I have to give up my entire life? He is a secret agent. His existence is a secret and practically doesn’t exist anywhere. I’d never get to introduce him to my friends or family, right? Haneul would be upset with me about it. Or would I have to become invisible too? Though I know the agency doesn’t allow any kind of relationships, Seven's not exactly a rule-follower, so I don’t think that matters to him. Though he is done with the agency, is that what he meant by going to look for Saeran and disappearing? Gah! This is too much to think about right now, my head is killing me. _

“Call me more often, okay? I miss you, my daughter. Bye-bye!” As soon as her phone touched the comforter the laughter reached her ears. Seven was howling, doubling over as if their conversation was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

“MC, I never knew you were so bold to declare war against a famous person! You should have told me that you know Glam Choi! I want autographs to sell!” There. There was the happy Seven that she was expecting when he’d first arrived at the apartment. Though, this time… this time it didn’t feel as though he were hiding his depression under a mask. It wasn’t a forced tease or joke. No underlying words that had concerned her multiple times before. 

She nudged him with an elbow, smiling. “I didn’t declare war, I just gave her a warning because she got on my nerves. Sarah Choi was my brother’s former fiancee, but she cheated on him. I would have forgiven her, but she wanted to stir up more trouble because she’s Glam Choi’s little sister. That’s so messed up to try to marry Jumin when her sister was marrying Mr. Han.” Shaking her head, MC crossed her arms over her chest. “So I don’t feel bad for scaring her and upsetting her. I didn’t think much when it happened, but after I realized what I potentially caused, I had to create a backup plan for my family company. I hate to ask Zen to model when he prefers musical acting, so I won’t blame him if he says no, but it will cause some problems.”

“Why don’t you ask me to model, MC? I know I’m not as handsome as Zen, but am I really that ugly?” He was pouting like a child. She blinked, looking at him a moment. Was he serious? There was no way that he was being serious. He had to be joking. That was the only logical explanation. Except part of her wondered if he was slightly upset with the fact that she was talking about Zen. 

“Of course I think you’d be quite the model yourself. But I can’t ask you for two simple reasons.” MC had shut her eyes, though she peeked out of one to see if he was paying attention. He looked more alert than she’d ever seen him. “One, you’re a secret agent. You couldn’t have yourself posted anywhere like that. It’d be super dangerous for you, right?” She held up a finger. Holding up another, she looked at him. “Two, I don’t want to have to fight for your attention. There are far prettier girls than me out there, who are much better than I am in every way, and I would much rather face rejection because I’m just not your type than because I’m not good enough for you, haha.” She tried to laugh it off, though she knew it was a genuine worry. A genuine insecurity. 

“Why do you say that?!” His face was red, tempting her to comment on the color flushing his skin. “You’re beautiful, MC! You’re like a ray of sunshine! Don’t compare yourself to other girls, ever! I don’t want you to develop some kind of complex because you think you’re not perfect enough! You’re so amazing!” He rambled, waving his hands in the air. She was a bit surprised - she thought only girls did that, though it seemed Seven did as well. It was… cute. 

She smiled despite herself, head tilting to the side. “That means a lot coming from you, so thank you.”

  
“Uh… yeah.. No problem.” Was he being awkward? Had she embarrassed him to the point of silence?  _ Looks like it… he’s quite adorable, isn’t he? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a more fluffy chapter. Less angsty and sad. 
> 
> I might be putting this story on hold to write some one-shots for things. I'm in a LOT of fandoms and I'd love to write some one-shots for those fandoms on here. I will keep writing chapters for this story, but I'll be looking back to ensure my idea for this is going in the direction I want it to go. If not, I will be altering some parts of this work. 
> 
> I know I keep saying that, but I have a couple of fandoms that I don't feel get enough love at the moment, and ships/crackships that also don't get enough love.


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